The curse of released Red-eared Terrapins in Hong Kong

No sooner had I written the post on 8 November than I saw just how common Red-eared Terrapins (Turtles) are in the fresh waters of Hong Kong, three weeks later. A short walk (almost the same one we had made exactly 50 years earlier) started at Kowloon Reservoir. A quick scan of the reservoir before setting off demonstrated the problem of this introduced invasive species:

Not only has Hong Kong had to contend with pet owners turning terrapins free but buddhists have been releasing them to gain merit. The former I can, in the absence of knowledge I can understand; the latter I cannot. But terrapins are just one of many introduced species in Hong Kong that can do damage to native wildlife populations. It is not surprising that the South China Morning Post has articles outlining the problem along with calls for something to be done, first to close the stable door and then to take active counter-measures.