'Beautiful misunderstanding' explained

Some people who call Tai Ping Estate in Sheung Shui home should consult their children's nature books before they start squeaking about a rodent problem involving an "unknown species of rat" with excellent jumping and tree-climbing abilities.

After a worthy waste of time members of the property management team issued a notice to inform anyone who was worried about such creatures with the revealing heading "Beautiful misunderstanding of squirrels as rats."

The management team also offered guidance on the appearance and characteristics of squirrels, saying "although squirrels and rats belong to the same order of rodents and are similar in size, squirrels belong to the family Sciuridae and are harmless to humans and animals."

So the message was for residents to be respectful to nature and not to feed and disturb the growth of animals.

That set off animated discussion between humans, with notes about there being rats and squirrels on the estate and laughs that some people don't know the difference.

And some praised the property management team for its welcome approach of "not just killing animals."