This species is endemic to Central Vietnam.
The extremely rare animal that can only be found in Vietnam is the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant – scientific name: Lophura edwardsi – a bird species belonging to the Phasianidae family.
The stunning blue plumage of the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi). Photo: Birdland (UK).
Recently, in July 2024, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) listed the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant as CR – Critically Endangered under standard D.
This means that the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant is facing the risk of extinction, completely disappearing from the wild in the near future, as the population of this species has declined by 90%.
Previously, in 2014, 2015, 2016, and 2018, the IUCN Red List also classified the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant as CR, but under a lower standard due to the fewer individuals lost compared to 2024.
The Population of Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasants is Extremely Low
According to the IUCN Red List, the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant is a species endemic to Central Vietnam. This bird feeds on fruits, insects, spiders, and invertebrates.
In the past, this beautiful animal was described as fairly common in four provinces (Ha Tinh, Quang Binh, Quang Tri, and Thua Thien Hue). However, after 2000, the population of this species plummeted due to habitat loss (due to severe deforestation and forest degradation) along with excessive illegal hunting (mainly through trapping) for commercial purposes.
Scientists first discovered and classified the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant in 1896. At that time, they identified 22 individuals. By 1935, most of them were collected as specimens.
Lophura edwardsi is a bird belonging to the Phasianidae family. (Photo: Nghia Ha Van/IUCN).
From 1964 to 2000, there were 24 records of 62 individuals observed from that time until 2000. The last confirmed sighting of this pheasant in the wild was in 2000 when a male was rescued from a hunter and kept at the Forest Protection Station in Hai Lang District, Quang Tri.
The lack of further records of this species in the wild since then, despite numerous survey efforts, indicates that the population continues to decline and the estimated risk of complete extinction is greater than 90%.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the total number of adult Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasants currently (in captivity) is fewer than 49 individuals.
The Two Main Threats to Vietnam’s Rare Animal
Biologists state that the two biggest threats to the population of the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant are (1) habitat loss and degradation, and (2) hunting.
Analyzing the first threat, scientists indicate that the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant prefers to live in “extremely humid” evergreen lowland forests, typically at elevations below 300 meters, characterized by high humidity year-round, heavy rainfall, and thick shrub layers rich in vines.
Illustration of evergreen forests in Vietnam. (Source: Constructive-voices).
However, the habitat in these lowland areas has been extensively destroyed through deforestation and is almost entirely replaced by irrigated rice cultivation. The remaining forests have suffered acute and widespread leaf loss after 72 million liters of herbicides were sprayed in Vietnamese forests during the war.
Furthermore, continuous human activities such as commercial logging, firewood collection, charcoal production, and essential oil extraction have contributed to the disappearance of the preferred habitat for the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant.
Selective logging and the removal of nearly all the largest trees have profoundly affected the structure and microclimate related to these humid evergreen forests. The thinning of the canopy and the degradation of the shrub layer are believed to have led to the drying out of the “always wet” forests that this unique Vietnamese species prefers.
Analyzing the second threat, experts from the IUCN indicate that the use of snares for hunting is a widespread and insidious threat across Southeast Asia. Birds and terrestrial mammals are indiscriminately killed.
Such techniques are used not only by professional hunters but also by loggers, gold miners, and essential oil extractors, creating immense hunting pressure on wildlife.
Trapping of the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant occurs across Vietnam on an almost industrial scale. For example, from 2011 to 2019, approximately 127,000 snares were removed just in the Sao La Species-Habitat Reserve in Thua Thien Hue, covering an area of 320 km².
High-Tech and Million-Dollar Efforts to Protect Lophura edwardsi
In hopes of discovering new individuals in the wild, thereby establishing a basis for conserving this rare animal, the IUCN has proposed a series of conservation actions, including the involvement of high technology.
For instance, using remote sensing technology to classify forests based on humidity to identify areas suitable for this species; conducting further surveys of the remaining forest fragments in the north using camera traps and specially trained dogs;
Illustration of wildlife camera traps. (Source: LifeWatch Belgium).
Establishing nature reserves while encouraging the protection of other important sites for this species, where possible; if appropriate, using captive populations to breed suitable individuals for reintroduction.
Dr. Le Trong Trai, Director of Vietnam Nature Conservation Center, stated to VNExpress in 2021 that since 2011, researchers have set up camera traps in various locations within the distribution area but have not yielded results. Nevertheless, due to the lack of evidence and basis to claim that this species has gone extinct in the wild, scientists continue to strive and hope to find traces of this rare animal.
For the existing captive population, researchers are concerned about inbreeding and hybridization issues, leading to the degradation of the gene pool. Therefore, conserving the pure gene pool for reintroduction into the wild is a complex and time-consuming task that requires thorough research on potential reintroduction sites to avoid losing the species again.
Selecting and breeding suitable individuals for potential reintroduction will take at least 5-6 years. This is essential if a sustainable population of Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasants is to exist in the wild, with 2-3 subpopulations by around 2030. According to the action plan for the conservation of the Vietnamese White-Crested Pheasant for the period 2015-2020, with a vision to 2030, at least 1 million USD is necessary for this conservation breeding activity, Dr. Le Trong Trai concluded.
