Volunteers send food to keep wild cows alive on Hong Kong’s desolate Tap Mun

Tap Mun, also known as Grass Island, is in the northeastern part of Hong Kong’s New Territories, near Sai Kung. It’s also home to some 20 feral bovine – including brown cattle and water buffalo, which were left behind with the decline of farming in the 1970s. The inability of Hongkongers to travel overseas during the Covid-19 pandemic has sparked a sharp increase in visitor numbers to places like Tap Mun, speeding up desertification on the 1.69 sq km (0.65 square mile) island. Lantau Buffalo Association’s Ho Loy helps send grass to the island, hoping to keep the animals alive.