Camera traps have discovered many extremely rare and endangered endemic animals listed in the Vietnam Red Book such as red-faced pheasant, purple-sided pheasant, white-throated partridge... appearing in Nui Chua National Park in Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province.
February 7, A group of Vietnamese and German scientists from the Southern Institute of Ecology (SIE), the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) and the Nui Chua National Park Management Board have announced the results of the presence of many rare animal species in the forest area of Nui Chua National Park in Ninh Hai district, Ninh Thuan province.
Red-crowned fowl (scientific name Polyplectron germaini) recorded by camera trap. Photo: Research team
Accordingly, researchers and the Management Board of Nui Chua National Park have placed 145 camera traps throughout the entire forest area of Nui Chua National Park for monitoring and tracking from 2018 to 2022.
Through that, many extremely rare and endangered endemic animals were discovered, listed in the Vietnam Red Book, such as: red-faced pheasant, purple-sided pheasant, white-throated partridge and many other species such as gray-headed bobtail and green-headed bobtail.
According to researchers, the newly recorded animal species belong to the bird and ground-feeding mammal fauna, and were found to be concentrated in the transitional semi-arid forest area.
Purple-sided pheasant (Lophura diardi) recorded at Nui Chua National Park. Photo: Research team
The new point of this discovery is that most of the discovered species are concentrated in the transitional semi-arid forest area. This is an intermediate habitat, located between evergreen tropical rainforest and dry coastal forest.
Mr. An Nguyen - the main author of the research team said that during the research on the silver-backed chevrotain, the research team discovered a large number of animal species in the transitional semi-arid forest habitat where the silver-backed chevrotain was recorded.
White-throated partridge (Arborophila brunneopectus). Photo: Research team
"This prompted us to expand our research from a single species to the terrestrial mammal and bird communities in Nui Chua National Park. The results showed that the highest species diversity was found in the transitional habitat type, also known as semi-arid forest," said An Nguyen.
Mr. Tran Van Tiep - Director of Nui Chua National Park Management Board said that the research results show that we need to focus on semi-arid forests in conservation activities in the national park.
According to Mr. Tiep, in addition to being the area with the highest species diversity compared to other habitats, this type of forest is also an important habitat for the silver-backed chevrotain - the symbolic species of Nui Chua National Park.
Green-winged Pitta (Pitta moluccensis) bird fauna recorded by photo. Photo: Research team
"Information on the status and distribution of species is the basis for the unit to plan conservation and identify priority areas or activities. If feasible, we should consider expanding the core zone of the national park to include this transitional habitat," said Mr. Tiep.
Associate Professor, Dr. Luu Hong Truong - plant expert, Director of the Southern Institute of Ecology said that this study provides further evidence of the importance of transitional habitats in conservation and the need to protect the very few remaining forest areas in the coastal areas of the South Central provinces, notably in Nui Chua National Park.
The silver-backed chevrotain was discovered and is considered an endemic animal in Nui Chua forest. Photo: Research team
Previously, also in the semi-arid forest area of Nui Chua National Park, the above research team also discovered the silver-backed chevrotain. This is a species that was thought to be extinct after 30 years of being seen in Nui Chua forest.
Source: https://danviet.vn/phat-hien-ga-tien-mat-do-va-nhieu-loai-dong-vat-quy-hiem-tai-vuon-quoc-gia-nui-chua-20250207142555583.htm
Comment (0)