Wild animals of Vietnam: new discoveries, new threats

Wild animals of Vietnam: new discoveries, new threats

Some may think of Vietnam as a land ravaged by war, with permanent damage to wildlife. But in fact, much of Vietnam’s wildlife survived the bombing and the agent orange. Only small areas of the country were bombed. Large animals hid in caves. Now scientists are discovering new species at an amazing rate. Two new species are being found in Vietnam each week. This has been happening for the last 20 years. Eight of the ten large mammals found in the last fifteen years have been found in Vietnam including the fishing cat, oxen, the Vietnamese rhino.

IMAGE: THERE WAS ONCE A POPULATION OF THOUSANDS. NOW THERE ARE LESS THAN EIGHTY CAT BA LANGURS LEFT IN THE WILD, LIVING IN THE CENTRE OF HA LONG BAY, NORTHEAST OF HANOI, NORTHERN VIETNAM

But now, the threat is of a more familiar form as people encroach. One author has described the peace as more dangerous than the war for wild animals. Scientists are racing to find and describe Vietnam’s rare animals. Robyn Williams speaks to Dan Drollette who has written about this in his book, Gold Rush in the Jungle, the Race to Discover and Defend the Rarest Animals of Vietnam’s Lost World.