Latest news with #KadoorieFarm
South China Morning Post
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- South China Morning Post
Hong Kong display strikes gold at Chelsea Flower Show with rare orchids
The Chelsea Flower Show, held in London every summer for more than a century, is a British institution drawing around 150,000 gardening enthusiasts to enjoy spectacular floral displays. Advertisement This year, there was an exhibit with a difference, featuring rare orchids from Hong Kong and other parts of Asia and the Pacific. The vibrant display, with orchids from Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in the New Territories, won a coveted gold medal and was visited by Queen Camilla. It also sent a powerful message about the need to protect the ecologically significant but endangered plants. 'We have got 150,000 bees in to look at the orchids,' said John Parke Wright IV, chairman of Orchid Conservation Chelsea, referring to the show's visitors. 'They are being pollinated with ideas about conservation and why it is important.' The Hong Kong section at the Chelsea Flower Show. Photo: Cliff Buddle Wright, who knows China well having worked for Jardine Matheson in the 1970s, was instrumental in forming the orchid group, comprising 25 institutions globally.
The Independent
27-05-2025
- The Independent
Hong Kong nature reserve shut down as birders flock to see rare owl chicks
A Hong Kong nature reserve has been partly closed after birdwatchers thronged to catch a glimpse of some rare owl chicks. The Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden in the Chinese financial hub last week said brown wood owl chicks had been born within the nature reserve for the first time in four years. The announcement attracted scores of photographers and bird watchers, prompting the nature reserve to close a part of the site to prevent visitors from "disturbing the owl chicks". Brown wood owls are known for their distinctively deep and dark brown eyes and are found commonly in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Taiwan, but are rare in Hong Kong. "The owls attracted much interest among visitors and photographers, some of which could potentially disturb them and we decided to temporarily close the road that provided access to the birds, a measure we communicated via social media," Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden said in a post on Facebook. It added: "We also appreciate that some enthusiastic photographers must have been disappointed, but as a nature conservation institute, the well-being and protection of the animals and plants in our nature reserve has priority." The nature reserve added that for the protection of the owl family, the part of the site will remain closed until further notice. The Kadoorie Farm and Botanic Garden on Saturday had shared a photo collage of three owls and a picture of a large group of birdwatchers pointing their long-lens cameras at a them. The post was later deleted by the nature reserve, Hong Kong Free Press reported. A spokesperson with the reserve told local media that birdwatchers with big cameras began to show up shortly after the first pictures of the owls were posted on social media. The reserve had reportedly warned against using laser beams or owl hooters to attract the birds and eventually decided to close the road. It said visitors willing to see the owl species up close can visit a captive owl named Woody at its raptor sanctuary.
South China Morning Post
24-05-2025
- South China Morning Post
Snake handler captures 2.5-metre python that swallowed cat in Hong Kong
A Hong Kong snake handler captured a 2.5-metre (8.2 feet) long python that had swallowed a stray cat near a village house in Ma On Shan on Saturday morning. Police received a report at around 6.25am from a Chek Nai Ping Village resident who discovered that the python was swallowing a cat outside the No 91 village house. A snake handler was sent to the scene and captured the Burmese python, which was later placed in a cloth bag and transferred to the Kadoorie Farm for handling. According to the force, the startled python regurgitated the stray cat during the capture. The cat was found dead, and its body was being handled by the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department.
