Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens

Simon Hampel

Simon Hampel

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Hong Kong - Day 4 - Zoological and Botanical Gardens

We headed back down from Victoria peak on the tram and once at the bottom, we walked up to the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens, quite a hike up the road, and quite a few steps, only to find ourselves at the very bottom of the zoo, with yet another walk to get up to where the animals are.

Overall a little disappointing - it's really a botanical garden with a couple of animals - not really what one would normally consider a zoo. Then again, it is free, and they do actually have quite an impressive bird collection, a couple of primates and a lone Jaguar (whom we didn't see given it was rather hot and it was obviously afternoon siesta time). It seems most people tend to come here for exercise, we saw quite a few people jogging around the park, some Tai-Chi performers, and given the steepness of the site, everyone else simply got a good cardiovascular workout by just walking around.

The gardens really are very nice, pity about the "keep off the grass" mentality though - the more carefully they tend it, the more inviting it is. Some of the nicest things are tucked away in little "grottos", where they have quiet spots with stone benches and other little features. The benches all have a little character at either end, cats on one, rabbits on another, pandas, and even Mickey Mouse. We took some photos, and once we have them developed I will post them somewhere, since they really were quite cute. Quite an exhausting time actually with all the walking up and down steep hills, but quite pleasant.
 
As a person in Hong Kong,although HKZBG have some great animals,their exhibit is mainly old and barren and small.As sim suggest,not really consider a zoo.(although there a no definition of zoo)
 
Adding to this place's woes, nine monkeys were found dead within a short time-frame: four White-faced Sakis, three Cotton-top Tamarins, one De Brazza’s Monkey and one Common Squirrel Monkey. Possibly the victim of poisoning, I maintain the facilities are simply inadequate for the care of especially critically endangered individuals like the Cotton-top Tamarin (only a few thousand left in the wild). They should all be sent to accredited zoos.

Officials probe mystery animal deaths at HK zoo - RTHK
 
oca2073 said:
Adding to this place's woes, nine monkeys were found dead within a short time-frame: four White-faced Sakis, three Cotton-top Tamarins, one De Brazza’s Monkey and one Common Squirrel Monkey. Possibly the victim of poisoning, I maintain the facilities are simply inadequate for the care of especially critically endangered individuals like the Cotton-top Tamarin (only a few thousand left in the wild). They should all be sent to accredited zoos.

Officials probe mystery animal deaths at HK zoo - RTHK
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The cause of the deaths of the simians has been found

The animals in the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens contracted melioidosis, possibly after some digging work near their cages, that later caused them to develop sepsis, Secretary for Culture, Sports and Tourism Kevin Yeung said in a press briefing.
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PossumRoach said:
The cause of the deaths of the simians has been found
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I would say for a naturally occuring bacterium in S.E. Asia it is possibly quite difficult to completely prevent or control.

More information on this life-threatening disease here:
Link: Melioidosis: Causes, Symptoms, Transmission & Treatment

oca2073 said:
Adding to this place's woes, nine monkeys were found dead within a short time-frame: four White-faced Sakis, three Cotton-top Tamarins, one De Brazza’s Monkey and one Common Squirrel Monkey. Possibly the victim of poisoning, I maintain the facilities are simply inadequate for the care of especially critically endangered individuals like the Cotton-top Tamarin (only a few thousand left in the wild). They should all be sent to accredited zoos.

Officials probe mystery animal deaths at HK zoo - RTHK
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Having said that ..., what is left now of the primate collection?
 
Kifaru Bwana said:
I would say for a naturally occuring bacterium in S.E. Asia it is possibly quite difficult to completely prevent or control.
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I don't know about that, Singapore Zoo had an outbreak in the 1980s that killed a few gorillas, but that was decades ago. Since then, they seem to be doing alright, is it a matter of species that's the issue? Singapore Zoo no longer houses gorillas as a result of this. If certain species are vulnerable, it's pretty irresponsible and incompetent to still be keeping them here.

Kifaru Bwana said:
Having said that ..., what is left now of the primate collection?
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Eleven dead so far, out of 70. That's about 16% of the mammal section.

https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-...nfection-killed-monkeys-11th-dies-2024-10-21/

In any case, the place is depressing and I haven't visited in years. The city needs a proper zoo, maybe build it in the vacant lot next to Disneyland or something.
 
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oca2073 said:
In any case, the place is depressing and I haven't visited in years.
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The bird section is nice enough, although there also seems to be a drop off in species. And of course the poor conditions in the primate cages could be an important factor to consider with this spread of disease.

oca2073 said:
The city needs a proper zoo, maybe build it in the vacant lot next to Disneyland or something.
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Do we really need a proper zoo?I have a lot of different views on this subject throughout the years but i think nowadays I have settled on the answer. No, we doesnt really needs one. It is really hard to justify having a high quality zoo with land and logistic concerns. For a place in which people can observe animals in a pleasant conditions, Ocean Park really is enough to do the job. Of course, I would like to see Ocean Park expanding their collection, but for say to have a zoo with the traditional megafaunas etc. is probably improbable and unrealistic.
Furthermore, there are zoos cross boundary in China as well. Shenzhen got a zoo which isn't the best but is very much a "proper zoo" in the sense it has most of the ABCs, and Guangzhou have 2 zoos with one of them being the best zoo in China. Both of those cities are within an hour or two from Hong Kong by trains/metros and can be easily accessible. So even if Hong Kong have a world class zoo it would probably be a direct competitor of Chimelong Safari Park, which is exactly what happened within Ocean Park and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. So yeah, probably improbable and not really necessary for HK to have a "proper" zoo, as much as I have dreamt of it and want it.
 
aardvark250 said:
The bird section is nice enough, although there also seems to be a drop off in species. And of course the poor conditions in the primate cages could be an important factor to consider with this spread of disease.


Do we really need a proper zoo?I have a lot of different views on this subject throughout the years but i think nowadays I have settled on the answer. No, we doesnt really needs one. It is really hard to justify having a high quality zoo with land and logistic concerns. For a place in which people can observe animals in a pleasant conditions, Ocean Park really is enough to do the job. Of course, I would like to see Ocean Park expanding their collection, but for say to have a zoo with the traditional megafaunas etc. is probably improbable and unrealistic.
Furthermore, there are zoos cross boundary in China as well. Shenzhen got a zoo which isn't the best but is very much a "proper zoo" in the sense it has most of the ABCs, and Guangzhou have 2 zoos with one of them being the best zoo in China. Both of those cities are within an hour or two from Hong Kong by trains/metros and can be easily accessible. So even if Hong Kong have a world class zoo it would probably be a direct competitor of Chimelong Safari Park, which is exactly what happened within Ocean Park and Chimelong Ocean Kingdom. So yeah, probably improbable and not really necessary for HK to have a "proper" zoo, as much as I have dreamt of it and want it.
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I disagree, a small zoo that only keeps endangered animals from Asia and eschews the typical ABC theme park style of Chimelong and Shenzhen would be popular and cost relatively little to maintain as well. It would be roughly 10 ha in size and doable in less than half a day, with a 30 minute commute. This would distinguish it very well from its competitors. My model would be Jersey Zoo which focuses only on endangered animals and education.

HKers are very busy, there's lots to do, and so many don't necessarily want to spend an entire Saturday or Sunday connecting with wildlife in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. This lower budget, more educational, and more accessible alternative would see a ton of visitors.
 
oca2073 said:
I disagree, a small zoo that only keeps endangered animals from Asia and eschews the typical ABC theme park style of Chimelong and Shenzhen would be popular
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Not really. Most endangered species aren’t as attractive as much as ABCs. The average joe fail to see endangered species for what they are and will think of them as “just a snake” or “just a frog”. Jersey also uses ABCs such as great apes and sloths.

oca2073 said:
HKers are very busy, there's lots to do, and so many don't necessarily want to spend an entire Saturday or Sunday connecting with wildlife in Shenzhen or Guangzhou. This lower budget, more educational, and more accessible alternative would see a ton of visitors.
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This sort of contradicts your first statement. If HKers are too busy to visit mainland, then do you really think that a park that abstains from keeping ABCs is going to be popular with locals who won’t be seeing “just a frog” or “just a bird” instead of big cats giraffes, and elephants?
 
I would say that a major city like Hong Kong would be well placed to accommodate at the very least 2 world and/or regional class zoo facilities. Ocean Park is quite well known beyond the territory, but is also primarily an attraction theme park with some animal exhibits (both tropical and marine)! Then there is the Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Gardens which is a hybrid animal exhibits, nature aware and botanical garden.

However, what is seriously lacking in Hong Kong is a proper zoo facility! And honestly, if a very affluent city like Hong Kong which is stocked / stuffed to the hilt with trade, big corporations and mainland PR of China financial institutions it sure could afford to invest in and fund a world class zoo facility.

Whereas, I will contend that Hong Kong residents may well be interested in travelling to Guangzhou and visiting their municipal Guangzhou Zoo as well as Chimelong Safari Park ..., it would be far more realistic to expect the majority of people to love having one major zoo on their own doorstep!

Now, what I gather from all the local perspectives on the Hong Kong Zoological and Botanical Gardens is that it is well below par and a very mediocre zoo facility with little to get excited about in terms of wild and/or exotic animal collection, species and diversity. High time the local Authority wake up and establish a zoo within Hong Kong that does justice to the qualification zoo / wild animal collection.

Amen! Well, my 50 cents .... of!
 
oca2073 said:
In any case, the place is depressing and I haven't visited in years. The city needs a proper zoo, maybe build it in the vacant lot next to Disneyland or something.
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They probably wouldn't be able to use the land next to Disney for something like that even if they wanted to. There were agreements in place that even if Disney didn't purchase the land, it could still never be used for anything that would rival or affect Disney's operations, which includes housing, hotels, retail, entertainment venues or theme parks. It's unlikely that a zoo wouldn't go against that agreement.

Kifaru Bwana said:
However, what is seriously lacking in Hong Kong is a proper zoo facility! And honestly, if a very affluent city like Hong Kong which is stocked / stuffed to the hilt with trade, big corporations and mainland PR of China financial institutions it sure could afford to invest in and fund a world class zoo facility.
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Where would they put it? Land is a very scarce commodity in Hong Kong and there's an ongoing need for a lot more public housing. "Wasting" a plot of land of that size on a zoo isn't going to happen.

I agree with what others have already said, a major zoo makes little sense with what already exists just across the border. It would need to attract international visitors as well as locals, and the decline in visitor numbers to Ocean Park shows that there isn't the demand.
 
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I could understand that HG doesn´t have free plot of land it could build a brand-new zoo. But it has more inhabitants than Singapore so it should be able to support at least one or two world class zoos easily (in theory). Is there no plan for existing places to be substantially upgraded or enlarged?
 
Jana said:
I could understand that HG doesn´t have free plot of land it could build a brand-new zoo. But it has more inhabitants than Singapore so it should be able to support at least one or two world class zoos easily (in theory). Is there no plan for existing places to be substantially upgraded or enlarged?
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Again, I think it comes down to the availability of places like Chimelong Safari Park and Ocean Kingdom being so close. Singapore doesn't have that competition. Singapore Zoo has also had many years to establish itself and is one of the "must-do" things on most tourists' itinerary. Ocean Park used to be the Hong Kong equivalent, but many of the huge Chinese tour groups that used to go there don't go anymore because it no longer offers anything that can't be found on the mainland. I'd guess that it's the tourists that keep these things going more than the locals, so the local population probably doesn't factor massively into it.

There was a huge injection of public money into Ocean Park that was supposed to be used for a massive expansion, but this came right before covid, so that money ended up being eaten up just to keep the place afloat during that time
 
I had a look once more at the map for Hong Kong as a special city zone of PR of China. It is not the scarcity of land as a commodity ... it really is about determination, commitment, choice and investment, daring to be different and do a much needed upgrade of the Hong Kong facilities and creating out of either 1 of the 3 facilities we are talking about at least 1 world class zoo.

Further, Guangzhou Zoo is quite far away as even the Shenzen EZ has its own major safari park (Shenzhen Wildlife Zoo / Shenzhen Safari Park. A few other cities in the vicinity have their own zoo (o.a. Zhuhai Ocean Park) which are nearer Hong Kong territory than Guangzhou, the Provincial capital (Guangdong Province) is.

Hong Kong being the waterfront (South China Sea) financial hub for PR of China and a major seat for the Bank of China means it has attracted a huge amount of investment. Now, you are telling us that the territory does not the place for a world class zoo, nay just several mediocre theme park style facilities with animals as well as a sanctuary (that is invariably the best of the rest). Look at the Hong Kong Island .... which is .... thankfully for the most part green. The distance between Zoo -Botanical Garden and Ocean Park is around 7km-8km alone.
 
What a map won't tell you is that around 75% of Hong Kong's land is protected green space, so yes, there is very much a scarcity of land that's available for any kind of development and when it comes to "commitment, choice and investment" for that land, a zoo isn't going to be near the top of any lists.

As I said earlier, money was given for a massive upgrade of Ocean Park already, which unfortunately couldn't go ahead and the money was eaten away. What was supposed to be an investment for expansion essentially turned into a bail out. Another investment of that size isn't going to happen anytime soon. An upgrade of the tiny city centre zoo is absolutely something that could/should happen, but it will still be a tiny city centre zoo since there's no space for it to expand into.

You're also not taking into account the transport infrastructure of the area. Chimelong Safari Park, for example, is an easy day trip from Hong Kong thanks to it being very close to Guangzhou South Station, which can be reached from Hong Kong in around an hour via high-speed train. The distances and travel time involved are far smaller than those between Singapore Zoo and anything remotely resembling competition.
 
OK, I see your perspective and appreciate your comments very much.

All the same, I remain of the conviction that for Hong Kong's 3 sub par animal facilities - they do not qualify as a zoo nor aquarium space - absolutely an upgrade of one needs to be done.

As for the large investment in Ocean Park that seems to not have worked and exploded into its face is mainly - IMO - due to the fact it is another theme style park of which Hong Kong sports a no lack of. Their business case and future outlook for the investment you signal has happened and done on Ocean Park as well as the marketing/communication side of the mode and target/objectives of the investments just indicate it was a road to no where.

Thanks for highlighting that transport links between Hong Kong and Guangzhou has improved greatly in the last decade or more.
 
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