Vu Quang

Vu Quang is a remote forested region of Vietnam, in which several new species of deer and antelope have been discovered since the 1990s. Some are so new that scientific description is still pending, although most have local names.

Vu Quang, in the Ha Tinh Province of Vietnam's north central coast, is an area of steep mountains and dense rainforest. It is a very wet, hot area, whose mountains trap moisture coming in from the South China Sea. This creates a very stable, but inhospitable climate. It rains continually in the rainy season, and in the dry season there is much fog; consequently most surfaces are algae-coated and slippery. The local hunters prefer to stay out of the forest, setting snares and using dogs to chase animals into more accessible areas.

History

Vu Quang was used as a base by Phan Dinh Phung, the anti-colonial revolutionary, from 1885-96.

The area was declared a forest reserve in 1986 and a National Park in 1998. The National Park has an area of 212 square miles (550 Square kilometers).

List of new animals

New animals from Vu Quang and surrounding areas:
* Saola or Vu Quang ox ("Pseudoryx nghetinhensis")
* Quang khem ("slow deer")
* Giant Muntjac ("Megamuntiacus vuquangensis") - the world's largest muntjac.
* Mangden ("black deer")
* Linh duong ("holy goat") ("Pseudonovibos spiralis") - this or a similar species has been seen in Cambodia, where its name is "kting voar"

In addition, Vu Quang is home to five new species of fish:

* "Parazacco vuquangensis"
* "Crosscheilus vuha"
* "Pararhoedus philanthropus"
* "Pararhoedus equalitus"
* "Oreoglanis libertus"

In addition to these animals, there are some tantalising glimpses of more:
* a large, cream-coloured slow loris seen in Hanoi Zoo by Doug Richardson, assistant curator of mammals at London Zoo in 1994;
* a black muntjac seen in Laos by Dr George Schaller of New York's wildlife Conservation society in 1994;
* the skull and some meat from the Vietnamese warty pig "Sus bucculensis" was given to Dr Schaller on the same visit. The species was first described in 1892 but no physical evidence for it was ever secured.

References

* http://www.time.com/time/magazine/printout/0,8816,980918,00.html
* http://www.birdlifeindochina.org/source_book/pdf/4%20North%20central%20Coast/Vu%20Quang.pdf
* Karl Shuker (2002). "The New Zoo: New and Rediscovered Animals of the Twentieth Century." House of Stratus, Thirsk. ISBN 1-84232-561-2