The largest camera trap ever conducted by conservation organizations in 21 forests in Vietnam has recorded images of a number of rare, mysterious animals that are very difficult to find in the wild.
The Sustainable Forest Management and Biodiversity Conservation project, funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), has just announced the results of the largest camera trap survey ever in Vietnam.
To record images of animals in deep forests, the project set up 1,176 camera traps in 21 special-use forests and protection forests in 8 provinces and cities.
A rare gaur was recorded by a camera trap at Cat Tien National Park. This is one of the ungulate species classified as endangered in Vietnam with a narrow distribution area. Cat Tien National Park is home to the largest gaur population in Vietnam.
Camera trapping was carried out during the period 2019-2023. Millions of images have been captured with 120,000 animal records. In the photo is an individual civet discovered in Cuc Phuong National Park.
The striped civet was recorded in Vu Quang National Park, Ha Tinh province. This is one of the rarest civet species in the world, living scatteredly in the North to the Central region of our country. In addition, this species is also recorded in the western region of Laos and southern China.
Camera traps recorded a population of brown-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus) in Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. This is a rare endemic primate species, in extremely endangered condition in Vietnam. Da Nang’s Son Tra Peninsula is where the largest brown-shanked douc population is recorded today.
An individual sun bear was recorded in Tay Giang protection forest. Once a species with a wide distribution range in Vietnam, now the number of sun bear individuals in the wild is very rare, and the distribution range has also narrowed a lot.
An individual black bear in the wild was also recorded at Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve. The black bear is much larger in size than the sun bear. They have long black fur and a V-shaped white strip of hair on their chest. The black bear is an animal listed in the Red Book of the World Conservation Union, and is one of the animals threatened with extinction. need to be preserved.
A large-mouthed individual was recorded at Vu Quang National Park. In 1994, for the first time, a large-gilled individual was recorded in Vietnam, and at the same time it was a new species in the world. This is a very rare species, valuable for preserving genetic resources, and is classified as extremely endangered.
Truong Son muntjac populations were recorded in Song Thanh National Park. This is also a rare species, with a small distribution area, limited habitat in old forests, and is easily hunted and caught in traps.
Camera traps recorded individual Son Duong at Phong Nha – Ke Bang National Park. This is an endangered and rare species with a small number in the wild and a decline over time.
One badger was recorded. This is endangered according to the world red book.
The camera trap recorded an individual pheasant. This is an endemic and extremely endangered subspecies of Vietnam. This species often lives and feeds in primary and secondary humid evergreen forests on hilltops and slopes with different slopes at altitudes from 100 – 1000m.
An individual deer was recorded in the deep forest. As a species that once had a wide range in Vietnam, up to now, records of individual deer in the wild have become increasingly rare. The species is currently classified as endangered, due to overhunting and shrinking habitat.
The rare Truong Son striped rabbit was also recorded in this camera trap. This is an endemic rabbit species in the Vietnam-Laos border area, first recorded in 2000 in the central region (Ha Tinh, Nghe An, Quang Binh) of Vietnam. This rabbit is considered an ancient mammal and is one of two rare striped rabbit species in the world.
According to the Project Management Board, the results of the camera trap show that although wildlife has seriously declined in 21 special-use forests and protection forests, the level of species richness and number of endemic species has decreased. relatively high, with 9 endemic species and 21 endemic species of the Truong Son range. Rare species such as the giant muntjac and Sun bear were also discovered, contributing to providing some records of these species in Vietnam over the past 20 years.
Phase two of the project is being conducted in 21 special-use forests and protection forests, to assess biodiversity trends in project implementation areas. The second round of camera traps is expected to end in 2025.