New sites for Saola found in Quang Binh province

Between 16 and 26 June 2002, Birdlife International in Indochina, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) and Quang Binh Provincial Forest Protection Department (FPD) conducted a bird and mammal survey in Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts, Quang Binh province. This survey formed part of the Danida-funded project Improved conservation planning through institutional strengthening in Cambodia, Lao and Vietnam.

Although no detailed zoological studies had been carried out prior to the survey, Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts were predicted to support a number of endemic taxa, due to their location within the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA). These predictions turned out to be correct when the survey team found four pairs of Saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis horns in the possession of local hunters, two of which belonged to animals hunted in the previous two months. Saola, which was only described by western scientists in 1992, is known from a few sites in the Annamite mountains, along the Vietnam-Laos border. The records from Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts reveal the presence of a previously unknown population, possibly one of the most significant remaining in the world.

Other exciting zoological discoveries made during the survey included a specimen of the recently discovered Annamite Striped Rabbit Nesolagus timminsi, collected in Le Thuy district, and the horns of a Giant Muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, seen in a hunter's house in Quang Ninh district.

Regarding the bird fauna of Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts, the results of the survey indicate that it is typical of the Annamese Lowlands EBA. Three restricted range species were recorded: Annam Partridge Arbrophila merlini, Crested Argus Rheinardia ocellata and Short-tailed Scimitar Babbler Jabouilleia danjoui. In addition, the area supports suitable habitat for three other restricted-range species (Edwards's Pheasant Lophura edwardsi, Imperial Pheasant L. imperialis and Sooty Babbler Stachyris herberti), although precise information about these species could not be obtained. Other key species recorded during the survey included Lesser Fish-eagle Ichthyophaga humilis, Brown Hornbill Anorrhinus tickelli, Red-collared Woodpecker Picus rabieri and Long-tailed Broadbill Psarisomus dalhousiae, all of which are listed in the Red Data Book of Vietnam or the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Based on the results of the survey, the area qualifies as an Important Bird Area (IBA), an internationally important site for the conservation of birds.

Unfortunately, Saola and many of the other key species in the area are under high hunting pressure. This pressure is being exacerbated as the area is exposed to outside market forces, a process that is likely to accelerate once the Ho Chi Minh National Highway, which bisects the area, is completed. Now that this area has been brought to the attention of the local government and the conservation community, it is to be hoped that immediate conservation action will be forthcoming to protect this excellent example of the Annamese lowlands ecosystem.