New surveys have revealed surprising mammal biodiversity in Bidoup Nui Ba National Park (Bidoup Nui Ba NP), a large protected area located in the southern part of the Annamites range.
The presence of numerous rare and endangered mammals in Bidoup Nui Ba NP provides a ray of hope for the long-term conservation of Vietnam’s unique biodiversity.
Since October 2019, Bidoup Nui Ba NP has cooperated with the Vietnamese Southern Institute of Ecology (SIE) and the German Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (Leibniz-IZW) to conduct a first large-scale camera-trapping survey across the entire protected area. The first camera-trapping data from the ongoing study revealed an exceptionally high mammalian diversity with at least 21 mammal species, seven of which are globally threatened.
“We were thrilled to find such a diverse mammal community,” said Dr Le Van Huong, director of Bidoup Nui Ba NP. “Rare animals that have slipped into extinction in other parts of Vietnam still thrive in the forests of Bidoup Nui Ba NP. This protected area is a valuable landscape for Vietnam and for global biodiversity conservation.”
The most important result of the species survey are several camera trap images of the large-antlered muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis), a critically endangered deer species only found in the Annamites ecoregion.
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Image via Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research
