In the " Lost World " of Vu Quang
by Chng Soh Koon
U QUANG NATURE RESERVE, Vietnam, 1994 - We made our way across
the boulderstrewn river very carefully. The rocks looked
deceptively steady until you stepped on them. Several times I
slipped and fell into the icy water. Luckily it wasn't deep.
Once across, we climbed the steep hill, clutching at trees or
branches as we went along. The continuous rain had made the hillside
slippery. Although it was rockier, it was easier to use the abandoned
logging trail since there were crevices where one could get a
foothold.
At 600m, the slope became gentler. We trekked for a further 6km,
stopping now and then to rest but more often to remove leeches
from our shoes.
We were in the Vu Quang Nature Reserve, in the territory of the
saola, a goatlike animal which geneticists say is more akin
to the ox - hence its common English name, the Vu Quang ox. Saola
is the local indigenous name meaning "weaving spindle",
because its horns resemble these long wooden implements.
This shy, nocturnal animal was unknown to the outside world, until
scientists from WWF and the Vietnamese Ministry of Forestry chanced
upon trophies in villagers' homes during their first foray into
this remote corner of Vietnam in May 1992.
That mission also found a new river carp, the fourth in the Opsarichthys
genus. More recently, in March 1994, the scientists discovered
another new mammal species, this time related to the common barking
deer. They found only the skulls of the animal, which they have
called the giant muntjac (Megamuntiacus vuquangensis) as it is
almost twice the size of the largest known muntjac, the Indian
muntjac (Muntiacus muntjac).
These discoveries have brought worldwide attention to the reserve,
described by some scientists as a "lost world seemingly untouched
by the war", and possibly teeming with new species.
As I stopped to catch my breath, I looked around this "lost
world". Phan Dinh Phung, the 19th century, antiFrench
resistance fighter, had chosen his hideaway well. It would be
nearly impossible for anyone unfamiliar with this mountainous
area, with its steep narrow valleys, to find him or his comrades.
It was in Phung's honour that Vu Quang was first established as
a cultural site in 1986. During his time, the forests must have
been very thick. Not any more. The Vu Quang Forest Enterprise
Concession started operations in 1961 with the twin aims of forest
exploitation and reforestation.
But the replanting stopped in 1988 due to lack of funds. Since
the saola's discovery, the Ministry of Forestry has closed down
the forest enterprise, imposed a logging ban, and enlarged the
reserve from 16,000ha to almost 60,000ha.
The sun had just come out from behind the clouds, and was beginning
to penetrate through the forest canopy. Would we come face to
face with a saola was the question uppermost in our minds as we
trekked deeper into the forest. Two nights earlier, before we
left Hanoi for the 10hour bumpy road journey to Vu Quang,
we had seen a saola skin, complete with head, horns and hoofs.
Seeing it removed all my doubts about the existence of the animal,
or that it was a mutant form affected by Agent Orange.
"Tell me, John, will we ever see the beast alive?" I
asked Dr John MacKinnon, coleader of the first survey mission,
who was now back in the reserve helping WWF with a phototrapping
survey of the saola.
We had already seen fresh footprints of a herd of five, maybe
six gaurs, several foraging sites of wild pigs, civets' droppings,
and a dance area of the crested argus pheasant. We had also heard
a gibbon's call amidst the chorus of numerous forest birds.
"No," replied MacKinnon. "Maybe if you go out at
night. But then you could get yourself killed venturing out in
the dark in this treacherous terrain."
Dr MacKinnon, a frequent visitor to Vu Quang, has yet to see a
live saola. Neither have Pham Mong Giao, the mammalogist with
the Ministry of Forestry and another frequent visitor, nor Shanthini
Dawson, WWF project executant who has been working in the reserve
since November 1993.
Mr Giao believes that it is easier to spot the saola in the bigger
and less disturbed forests of the proposed Pu Mat reserve, adjacent
to Vu Quang's northwest border. When approved, the 100,000ha
Pu Mat reserve would, together with Vu Quang, form a sizeable
forest complex.
Ms Dawson has been conducting field surveys to identify possible
"corridors" to link the two reserves. These forest corridors
would enable large animals such as the saola, giant muntjac, Asian
elephant, and tiger to move freely between the reserves, hence
increasing genetic diversity, which in turn helps preserve viable
populations.
During her surveys, Ms Dawson has come across the saola's footprints
and droppings, and also feeding signs. The saola's common food
is thien nien kien (Homanolema aromatica), literally meaning "thousand
years strong". Local people believe that its roots, when
dried and mixed with water and drunk, can strengthen the arms.
So far the six automatic cameras set up in the reserve for the
phototrapping survey have also failed to capture the animal on
film. These cameras are connected to pressure pads. When an animal
steps on the pad, it triggers the camera, thereby photographing
itself. The system is similar to that used in Indonesia's Ujung
Kulon National Park where, for the first time, scientists were
able to obtain accurate data on the age, sex, and health of the
wild Javan rhino population there.
Information from the surveys, and from interviews with villagers,
will be used to draw up a longterm conservation plan for
the saola. It was during one of these visits to local villages
when Do Tuoc, a Ministry of Forestry field biologist and Ms Dawson's
local counterpart, drew her attention to the skulls of the giant
muntjac.
Ms Dawson fears that hunting pressure could drive both newly discovered
species to extinction. "It would be tragic if these species,
having survived 30 years of war, become extinct now because of
hunting," she said.
There are over 20,000 people living in and around the Vu Quang
reserve. Although most farm crops such as sugarcane, they supplement
their income with hunting. They mainly hunt wild pigs and the
common muntjac, with the giant muntjac coming a close third. Occasionally,
a saola walks into their traps.
The people eat the meat of both animals. In addition, the teeth
of the saola and the skulls of the giant muntjac are ground for
use as medicine. Since their scientific discoveries made global
headlines, both species have gained immense monetary value, dead
or alive.
Dr MacKinnon said the publicity about the new species is creating
interest among animal collectors and trophy hunters. "A few
local institutions have already paid money for specimens alerting
local hunters to the potential monetary value of the animals,"
he said.
In one hunting season, from September 1993 to February 1994, about
4,000 snares were set in the reserve and local villagers reportedly
caught 15 to 20 giant muntjacs and three saolas.
Alarmed by this pressure, the Ministry of Forestry imposed a hunting
ban, but it has largely been ignored. To counter this threat,
guard posts have been set up in the reserve.
Public education is also very important, Mr Giao believes. "Nature
conservation is still new here," he said.
A major concern, however, is to improve local living standards.
Vu Van Dung, chief botanist at the Forest Inventory and Planning
Institute and coleader of the first survey mission, is keen
to encourage farming of the sika deer, Cervus nippon.
The deer is bred for the velvet of its antler which is used in
traditional medicine to treat blood disorders and anaemia. Research
in the former Soviet Union has shown that the velvet contains
a substance called pantocrin, which clinical trials have proven
to be useful as a tonic and for accelerating the healing of wounds
and ulcers.
In Vietnam, the antler is sold for as much as 30 million dong
(US$3,000) per kg. The live deer itself is also worth a lot. A
young male deer fetches around 6 million dong (US$600). And, as
a female can produce offspring, the price for one is much more
- between 30 and 80 million dong (US$3,0008,000).
In villages like Duc Loc, a stone's throw from Vu Quang, deer
farming is popular. Visiting Nguyen Van Ngo, who makes his living
solely from deer farming, one can see why. Mr Ngo's house boasts
a television set, a refrigerator, and a stereo set - luxury items
in a poor country. His house, a stone bungalow with tiled roof,
stands in contrast to the small thatch huts in Vu Quang.
Mr Ngo started deer farming in 1985 with one male deer. Profits
from the sale of the antlers enabled him to acquire a female in
1988. She has already produced three offspring, all of which Mr
Ngo has sold. Mr Ngo says deer farming is easy and doesn't take
much space.
Vu Quang villagers are very keen to start deer farming, but many
are not able to raise the capital. So other livelihood projects
are being developed. This includes governmentsponsored rubber
and cinnamon plantations outside the reserve. These plantations
are expected to create employment for the local communities, and
will hopefully absorb the 130 or so workers of the nowdefunct
Vu Quang Forest Enterprise.
WWF hopes to turn some of these former destroyers of the forests
into their guardians. "With their knowledge of the forest,
these people are well placed to protect it," said David Hulse,
WWF Vietnam Country Representative. "But it will take time
to change their thinking."
It was time for us to change tracks, too. As we gingerly made
our way down the hill, often sliding down the rainsoaked
paths, and disappointed that we hadn't managed to get a glimpse
of the saola, we hoped there was still time to save Vu Quang and
its newly and yettobe discovered biological riches.
May 1994
Editor's note: In June 1994, the Vietnamese authorities confiscated
a young saola caught by a local hunter in a forest just outside
Vu Quang. The female calf, estimated to be between four and five
months old, is the first live saola scientists have seen since
its discovery in May 1992. However, that female and a male calf
found in August succumbed to respiratory and digestive problems
around the end of September. Their deaths highlight the difficulty
of holding rare wild animals in captivity - especially when they
are a newly discovered species scientists know nothing about.
It also emphasizes the urgency of conserving saolas in the wild.
In November 1994, the 9th Conference of CITES (Convention on International
Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) Parties accepted
Vietnam's proposals to list both the saola and the giant muntjac
in the Convention's Appendix I. This means that all trade in the
species is prohibited.
In June 1995, with funding from the Dutch government, WWF launched
a fiveyear project aimed at balancing conservation and development
needs in Vu Quang. Project activities include helping Vu Quang's
seven local communities formulate landuse plans and developing
sustainable economic schemes such as integrated farming systems
and fuelwood plantations.
WWF in Vietnam - Statistics
WWF Projects in Vietnam
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