Wild animals are threatened by poachers

Yok Don National Park covers an area of 115,000 hectares in Dak Lak province. Half of the park has a dipterocarp forest ecosystem with many rare and precious animal species.

In the past, the national park was the habitat for globally endangered species such as Bos sauveli, Muntiacus vuquangensis, Rucervus eldii, Elephas maximus and Cuon alpinus.

However, dozens of wild elephants have been found dead since 2009 because of poaching and other unchecked practices.

In late 2012, the public was stunned by the discovery of two elephants killed for tusks.

Pham Tuan Linh, director of Yok Don National Park, said that poachers take risks hunting wildlife in nature reserves which are put under special protection. Yok Don’s forest rangers have discovered dozens of people going to the national park to hunt animals illegally. In April, 2 men were caught slaughtering a 10 kilo muntjac.

Loc Xuan Nghia, director of Chu Yang Sin National Park in Dak Lak province, said there are many ethnic minority villages around the park. The H’Mong are very good at hunting and making rifles, and also breed good hunting dogs. Forest rangers have many times discovered H’Mong people hunting with dogs. Two officers were shot and seriously injured.

The same problems are occurring in Pu Mat National Park in Nghe An province. Precious wild animals are in danger because of the changes in habitat, wildlife trafficking and illegal hunting.

A report from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources on the situation of Asian elephants in Pu Mat showed that tens of elephants in Nghe An have been shot or killed with mines since 1995.

In 1996, local people in Phuc Son commune killed three elephants with mines when they damaged crops and houses. Some years later, two elephants were found dead without tusks.

Pu Mat’s director Tran Xuan Cuong estimates that there are 12 elephants left in the national park. No saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) has been captured since 2000, when the last photo of saola was made public.

A representative of Lang Sen Wetlands Conservation Area in Long An Province said forest rangers regularly have to chase men intruding into prohibited areas for illegal hunting. However, it is difficult to catch poachers who have better equipment. 

He also said that wild animals living in the natural reserve can be found for sale during inspection tours at the Thanh Hoa Market, which is tens of kilometers from the natural reserve.

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