DISCOVERED A NEW RANGE OF SILVER-BACKED CHEVROTAIN

On August 20, Center for Nature Conservation and Development (CCD) and Ea Sô Nature Reserve held a sharing session on the results of a biodiversity survey conducted at the Ea Sô Nature Reserve and the Krông Năng Watershed Protection Forest (Đắk Lắk Province), which documented hundreds of rare plant and animal species in the two areas.

After more than two months of field surveys and camera-trap monitoring, numerous bird, mammal, reptile, and amphibian species listed in Việt Nam’s Red Data Book were recorded. Notably, CCD experts discovered the silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), also known as Vietnam mouse deer — a species previously only confirmed in Khánh Hòa, Ninh Thuận, and Phú Yên (former administrative boundaries). In addition, the team successfully rediscovered the lesser fish eagle (Icthyophaga humilis) in the wild after more than 20 years.

CCD expects that these biodiversity survey results will support Đắk Lắk Province in its process of merging the Krông Năng Watershed Protection Forest into the Ea Sô Nature Reserve to establish a national park.

As part of the collaboration between Ea Sô Nature Reserve and CCD, the upcoming program will include training sessions to strengthen communication and environmental education capacity for staff and forest rangers in both areas; forest protection awareness campaigns in buffer-zone communities; surveys and monitoring of migratory bird and mammal species; and the establishment of community-based forest patrol teams.