Southern Lamma Nightlife:
'A Paradise for Wild Pigs'?

LO SO SHING – When I walked across the Lamma hills to chat with Paul Lau Kwok-leung, an authority on Hong Kong butterflies, little did I expect that our discussion would turn to a much-weightier, less-colorful topic – that of wild pigs.

After sharing his encyclopedic knowledge about beautiful winged insects, Paul gave me a remarkable bonus – a guided daytime tour to the nocturnal rooting-tooting-stomping grounds of a wild-pig herd. It's just a short walk from his home in Lo So Shing village, near Sok Kwu Wan.

"Wild pigs come here after dark – there must be dozens of them," said Paul. He then described what sounded like an entirely new variety of wild party on Lamma, very boaring (but not boring).

To the left of a footpath leading to Lo So Shing Beach, Paul pointed out large patches of uprooted and peeled back vegetation and turf, almost like rolled-up carpet, exposing the dirt below. He said that wild pigs had systematically harvested roots, edible bulbs and other vegetation bits that they like to eat.

"Around here, they are really changing the landscape," Paul said. "They've dug up lots of places in small patches all around Lo So Shing. Anywhere they can find edible bulbs underground they'll turn the soil upside down."

What remains visible by day after the pig-parties is a lot of heavily nosed-through and trod-upon dirt, criss-crossed by piles of plowed-together plant material that apparently didn't interest the night-feeders. Near the footpath, the dug-up-and-rooted patches reveal plastic bottles and other litter that passing humans earlier had tossed there.

Most Lamma residents have heard a few fellow islanders mention sporadic sightings of wild pigs or hoof-prints along seldom-used hiking routes. Never seeing such creatures personally, they tend to regard the stories as a rural myth.

No way! The wild pigs are real, Paul insisted. He has seen them and even photographed several one night at about 3 a.m. after they pushed past a fence and invaded his landlord's sweet-potato patch.

Convinced that wild pigs have been mating and multiplying deep in the woods, Paul described the wilderness on southern Lamma, especially near Lo So Shing, as "turning into a paradise for wild pigs". He believes that some of the night prowlers are youngsters -- piglets. By day, the animals probably rest in hiding places deep in the woods where they're confident humans won't appear.

Compared to farm pigs, the wild ones are bigger, darker, equipped with sharp tusks and covered in thick hair (much like cavemen once were). "They're really hairy," Paul said."They hear and smell extremely well, but their eyesight may be weak."

Paul theorises that a few years ago several wild pigs must have arrived on Lamma by swimming, probably from the New Territories. "They're good swimmers," he said. "Fishermen have seen them in the water before."

"Since some of their champion swimmers came over, they have prospered and are becoming more and more dominant in our nature scene. Their population is not small now, and it's going to multiply."

These animals can give birth to 10 or more piglets per litter, which means lots of hungry mouths to feed. Even so, the wild pigs seldom wander near Yung Shue Wan, probably to avoid the bigger human presence there. Likewise, they avoid Sok Kwu Wan's often-crowded main street. Normally, they won't attack people, but could turn ornery and aggressive if they feel threatened, startled, cornered or obliged to protect their youngsters.

Before long, staff from Hong Kong's Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) will need to start coming to Lamma on pig-chasing expeditions, Paul predicted. Usually the AFCD acts only after public complaints.

Eventually, a group of urban-dwellers visiting Lamma may wander off a main footpath and get badly lost. Then imagine them placing an emergency phone call, demanding police protection because they've been "surrounded by wild pigs". In heavily populated Hong Kong, not many people have such a wilderness experience.