VietNamNet Bridge – The Centre of Biodiversity Conservation (GreenViet), in co-operation with US-based San Diego Zoo Global and the management board of Ba Na-Nui Chua Nature Reserve has begun a wildlife supervision programme.

Rangers test a camera trap in Ba Na-Nui Chua Nature Reserve in Da Nang City. A system of 20 camera traps were built across the 28,000ha reserve to supervise endangered species for research and the protection of the reserve’s biodiversity. — VNS Photo Cong Thanh

The NGO set up 20 camera traps across the 28,000ha reserve.

The programme, which is funded by San Diego Zoo Global, will help record the movements of endangered species in the reserve, providing evidence for research and biodiversity protection.

This is the first time a camera trap programme has been introduced at the reserve in Đà Nẵng.

Biologists are scheduled to check the camera traps every month to examine the condition of the animals.

Established in 1986, the reserve is home to 626 animal species and 793 plant species, including several endangered primates such as the Red-Shanked Douc (Pygathrix nemaeus), the northern buffed-cheeked gibbon and Edwards’s pheasant, which are rarely seen in nature.

Located 1,487m above sea level, it was initially used as a mountain resort by the French in 1912 and remains an attraction for tourists visiting the Ba Na Hills Mountain resort and using the cable car routes.

Rapid urbanisation and illegal logging have encroached on the wildlife habitat and threatened the biodiversity of two nature reserves – the Ba Na-Nui Chua and Son Tra – in the city.

The World Wide Fund for Nature set up camera traps in 1992 and recorded a living Sao la, Vu Quang ox, spindlehorn, or Asian bicorn (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) – one of the world’s rarest large mammals -- in Vu Quang Nature Reserve in 1999 and another in Quang Nam Province in 2013.

Last year, San Diego Zoo Global and GreenViet launched a programme to highlight the importance of primate conservation and environmental protection for over 100 junior secondary school and high school students in Da Nang.

Source: VNS