Forest management officials from Tương Dương District discovered a rare sambar deer caught in a hunter’s trap during a patrol and coordinated a rescue operation.
Sambar deer trapped by a hunter, October 11. (Photo: Văn Trung).
On October 11, Mr. Phan Văn Trung, an officer from the Tam Hợp Forest Protection Management Station (Tương Dương District Forest Management Board), along with a working group, was patrolling in a deep forest area near the Vietnam-Laos border when they discovered a male sambar deer caught in a trap.
According to Trung, the animal was caught by a cable trap on its front leg in the bushes, struggling continuously but unable to escape. The patrol team quickly approached and cut the cable within a minute. Subsequently, the officers used medical alcohol to treat the wound on the deer’s left leg to prevent infection, monitored it for several minutes, and then released it back into the forest.
In addition to rescuing the sambar deer, the patrol team also discovered a dead wild pig (known as hoẵng) that had been trapped for a long time and removed more than 50 large cable traps used for capturing wildlife.
Sambar deer, scientifically named Capricornis milneedwardsii, belong to the IB group in the list of endangered and rare forest plants and animals that are prioritized for protection. This species is part of the bovine family, belonging to the even-toed ungulates, and is endemic to Southeast Asia, primarily found in the Indochina Peninsula countries such as Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and Thailand.
In Vietnam, their population is currently declining due to hunting, trapping, and the shrinking and fragmentation of their habitats.
