A new nature reserve created by the Vietnamese government in July may contain the elusive and rare forest bovine that looks like an antelope, the saola
(Pseudoryx nghetinhensis). It has been called the "Asian unicorn". The Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong Nature Reserve
[photo credit: Viet Nature Conservation Center] is home to a number of threatened species including the Sunda pangolin
(Manis javanica) and the southern white cheeked gibbon
(Nomascus siki) The reserve is a major step in the protection of Vietnam's wildlife under great pressure from poaching and deforestation. Located in Quang Binh province the reserve is 54,689 acres of lowland forest in the Annamite Mountains next to a national park. Its name means "clear water in the ravine."
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a female saola in Laos
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Theoretically, the reserve will enjoy the highest level of protection; even tourists are prohibited from entering ecological rehabilitation zones. Conservationists say law enforcement will be key to the new reserve's success. It may be that the reserve will be responsible for saving the Edward's pheasant
(Lophura edwardsi) from extinction since it is within the historic range of the bird that is functionally extinct in the wild. There is some evidence that the saola
[photo credit: WWF] persists in the dense forest of the region since remains of a saola killed by hunters were found by conservationists, but no researcher has seen a live saola in the wild. There are a few camera trap photos of the animal, the most recent one captured in 2013. Last year camera traps captured an image of the silver-backed chevrotain (
Tragulus versicolor), a deer like species not seen in thirty years.
Rara fauna aside, the forest is one of the few remaining intact in a country undergoing rapid development since the Vietnam war. Threats to its biodiversity come from land clearances, human encroachment, extraction industries and a high density of snare traps, the usual weapon of the illegal poacher. Since the reserve is near the Laotian border, it presents a challenge to protect forest inhabitants from poachers and wildlife traders. Nevertheless, the new reserve is a victory for conservationists. Green Kudos go to Vietnam!
