After a period of camera trapping, the management board of the Long Song-Da Bac protective forest (Tuy Phong District, Binh Thuan Province) has recorded 24 species of birds and mammals, including endangered, rare, and precious species that need to be conserved.
The Southern Institute of Ecology has closely coordinated with the Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board to implement field activities, installing camera traps to collect data within the protective forest area.
The team used camera traps, automatic photo-taking devices based on thermal and infrared sensors, to capture images of species foraging on the ground in the Long Song-Da Bac protective forest.
Black-legged Pitta. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
To ensure representativeness, camera trap points were established according to a grid system in the leaf-shedding dry forest habitat. The camera trap points are spaced approximately 500 meters apart. Each camera trap point is equipped with one camera installed at a height of 20 to 40 cm above the ground to maximize the likelihood of capturing the target species of the study. A total of 36 camera traps were installed.
Java Pangolin. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
After some time, the data extracted from the retrieved camera traps was cataloged, identified, and analyzed using modern statistical methods, resulting in the identification of 24 species of birds and mammals. Among them are endangered, rare, and precious species such as: Black-legged Pitta, Java Pangolin, Peacock, Goat Antelope, and Pig-tailed Macaque…
Peacock. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
According to the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature, five species recorded are classified as endangered, rare, and precious; critically endangered: Black-legged Pitta, Java Pangolin; endangered: Peacock; and near threatened: Goat Antelope, Pig-tailed Macaque.
Additionally, there are four species listed under Decree 64/2019/ND-CP; four species classified in group IB and six species in group IIB according to Decree 84/2019/ND-CP.
Pig-tailed Macaque. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
According to the Southern Institute of Ecology, among the species of conservation value, the Pig-tailed Macaque is the most commonly recorded species, with 88 sightings at 22 camera trap points. The remaining endangered, rare, and precious species were recorded no more than five times at a maximum of two camera trap points.
This indicates that these highly valuable conservation species are not prevalent in the surveyed area. The Black-legged Pitta is an arboreal primate, hence its low ground sightings.
Goat Antelope. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
There are only five ecological records of the Goat Antelope; this is the first time this animal has been recorded in the leaf-shedding dry forest in Vietnam. The presence of the Java Pangolin and Peacock was recorded only twice, highlighting the biodiversity value of the Long Song-Da Bac protective forest.
The issue of illegal wildlife hunting has led to a serious decline of both species throughout Vietnam. Additionally, the camera traps have also recorded human activities that are quite common in the forest.
Masked Palm Civet. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
Red Shanked Douc. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
Wild Chicken. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
Red-bellied Squirrel. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
The Long Song-Da Bac forest possesses rich and unique biodiversity resources, offering potential for ecotourism. The most valuable conservation species in the Long Song-Da Bac protective forest are the Black-legged Pitta, Java Pangolin, Peacock, and Goat Antelope. Therefore, Binh Thuan Province needs to enhance patrol activities, forest protection, and establish a regular biodiversity monitoring plan to timely assess and update the status and trends of biodiversity, providing information for conservation and sustainable development.
Wildcat. (Photo: Long Song-Da Bac protective forest management board).
Additionally, it is essential to implement more wildlife monitoring programs using camera traps in the natural forest areas of Binh Thuan Province to promptly track biodiversity changes, providing useful information for nature conservation and sustainable development.
