With three mammals certainly extinct in the last seventeen years, two probably extinct and several more now on the danger list, there is argent need for an investigation into the status of Hong Kong's wildlife and the setting aside of reserves for its conservation. Building and industrial development are increasingly destroying some of the hitherto unspoiled areas, and a group of people in Hong Kong have drawn up plans for a national park and several small nature reserves, including an island one on which it would be possible to re-establish local species of animals which could be used to re-stock other areas. Professor Phillips is head of the Department of Zoology in the University of Hong Kong of which Dr Marshall is also a member.