Gun bullocks. Hong Kong

Gun bullocks. Hong Kong

Hong Kong. Gun bullocks. Stranger in a Foreign Land One can only imagine how many strange and wondrous sights met young Joanna Colcord's eyes as she travelled to the Far East with her father, Captain Lincoln Colcord. These zebu cattle she saw in Hong Kong were definitely not what she was familiar with back in Maine. They were probably an unfamiliar sight even to the locals of Hong Kong, as this type of cow originated in South Asia. A zebu, sometimes known as indicine, or humped cattle, is a species or subspecies of domestic cattle characterized by a fatty hump on their shoulders, a large dewlap, and sometimes drooping ears. Why were they there? We can speculate that they were probably being used by the British army. Britain ruled Hong Kong at this time, and their police force was made up in good part by Indian Sikhs. Zebus make wonderful draft cattle and are much better suited for general draft work than the local water buffalos would have been. They are also much more resistant to heat than are horses.