10 school kids hurt in Pui O buffalo chase

Bowie Tse

Ten eight-year-old schoolchildren were caught in the line of action and hurt as two riled-up male buffalo - a father and son in competition for turf - rammed into a group of pupils on a footpath on Lantau yesterday.

The incident was captured in a 24-second clip showing one full-sized buffalo chasing the other as they headed in the direction of the student group at a car park near Pui O.

They hit two boys and a girl, who suffered injuries to the abdomen, chest, face and hands and were taken to hospital. The other seven suffered cuts and bruises as they scrambled and fell.

It was at about 9am that police received reports of the two buffalo bumping into the group of pupils from the nearby Lantau International School on Pui O South Lantau Road.

Car camera footage provided by a passerby showed the two raging animals running across the road and into the crowd of young students.

A girl who was hit in the abdomen passed out, though she regained consciousness before being sent to North Lantau Hospital. She was treated and discharged at 4pm.

The two boys suffered injuries to their chests, faces and arms and were sent to North Lantau Hospital. Then they were transferred to Princess Margaret Hospital for admission in stable condition.

A woman resident in the area, Leung Siu-wah - also known as "Buffalo Mother" in the local community for taking care of stray buffalo and cows - said the two buffalo are father and son and were fighting and chasing each other over territory.

"The father buffalo is around 22 or 23 years old and named Loner," she said. "He usually stays around Mui Wo. He suffered from bite injuries earlier and has not been active for a while. The son is named Big Eyes."

Loner, who is reckoned to weigh close to a tonne, she added, had been the dominant male buffalo in Pui O for a decade until he was castrated due to injuries. No longer competitive, he moved to Mui Wo.

Son Big Eyes, Leung went on, then became the dominant buffalo in the area.

It seems trouble broke out as Loner returned to Pui O, apparently hoping to regain status. So Loner and Big Eyes fought yesterday morning, which saw Loner stampeded and bumping into the students.

"The father buffalo had no history of attacking humans and this was only an isolated incident and tragic incident," Leung said.

She comforted the students and explained her thinking about the trouble.

And she told the youngsters that she hoped they would not "demonize these indigenous residents."

Leung then led the now calm buffalo pair away to a nearby village, Sun Wai Tsuen.

She also rebuked government officials for not conserving local habitats.

"Diminishing natural habitat has led to buffalo wandering into villagers' gardens or chasing each other in the community," she said.

"The government has yet to give proper attention to the problem."

bowie.tse@singtaonewscorp.com