Freshwater Animals

Freshwater animals are animals that mainly live in freshwater environments such as rivers, freshwater marshes, fishponds and etc. Urban development has gradually reduced local freshwater habitats, which bring serious threat to the survival of freshwater animals in Hong Kong.

There are many freshwater animals living in Hong Kong’s wetlands.

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Eurasian Otter

Eurasian Otter is one of the rarest mammals in Hong Kong, with population declining since the 1930s. A recent study only identified 7 individuals in Hong Kong. Being primarily nocturnal, their elusive behaviour complicate efforts to find and track them, thus posing challenges to conservation works.

Two-striped Grass Frog

Two-striped Grass Frog is a small frog, measuring about 3 to 4 cm in length. It inhabits lowland freshwater marshes, farmland, and streams. However, due to continued decline and degradation of these habitats, their local population has become fragmented and is in decline.

Black-faced Spoonbill

Mai Po and inner Deep Bay is a key wintering ground for Black-faced Spoonbill. Thanks to targeted wetland management efforts, its population has recovered from a few tens of individuals wintering in Hong Kong during the 1990s to over 300 individuals in most years since 2007.

Pheasant-tailed Jacana

The Pheasant-tailed Jacana was known to breed in the Deep Bay area until the 1970s. However, the development of Fairview Park in the mid-1970s directly resulted in the loss of the breeding population. At present, the species only appears in Hong Kong as passage migrant.

Paradise Fish

Inhabiting lowland habitats such as farmland, streams and marshes, this freshwater fish has undergone substantial decline due to habitat loss and degradation.

Japanese Eel

Regarded as a delicacy in many East Asian countries, Japanese Eel has undergone alarming decline due to overfishing. It is now a globally “Endangered” species. As a catadromous species, it requires uninterrupted passage between the seas and rivers to complete its lifecycle. Unfortunately, river training works have disrupted these natural passages. At the same time, they are also threatened by habitat loss and degradation.

Big-headed Turtle

Unlike most turtles, Big-headed Turtle sports a head which is too large to retract into its shell. Illegal poaching for food and pet trade is the main threat to them and it’s now listed as a globally “Critically Endangered” species.

Golden Coin Turtle

Due to continued intense poaching, Golden Coin Turtle is now globally “Critically Endangered”. Hong Kong is home to possibly the last breeding population of the species across its range, but the turtle is still exceedingly rare locally. Its recovery seems unlikely without substantial improvement to anti-poaching efforts.