VietNamNet Bridge - A gaur found killed in the Dong Nai Natural Reserve which has been placed under strict control.

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A gaur found killed in the Dong Nai Natural Reserve

Forest rangers, when patrolling the forest, discovered a dead 200 kilo gaur in Ward 105 of Dong Nai Natural Reserve. 

There are about 300 gaurs listed as rare and precious animals living in the natural reserve. Scientists believe the killed gaur was one of a small group of less than 10 in the Ma Da Forest area.

It was a female gaur, 2 years old, weighing about 200 kilos.

Forest rangers, when patrolling the forest, discovered a dead 200 kilo gaur in Ward 105 of Dong Nai Natural Reserve. 
Gaurs arei listed as VU (vulnerable) species in IUCN (the International Union for Conservation of Nature) Red List. 

Meanwhile, Vietnam Red Book lists gaur as ‘EN’ (endangered) species and the Government Decree No 32 puts it into IB Group, i.e. the exploitation and use for commercial purposes is prohibited.

The information has angered the public, which could not understand why an animal was killed in a strictly protected area with hundreds of forest rangers from the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) and the Dong Nai Natural Reserve.

Tran Van Mui, director of the Dong Nai Natural Reserve, pointed out that the problem was a road which goes through the natural reserve, saying that it "clears the way" for illegal hunters to kill the gaur.

“There are 2,031 households in the two communes of Ma Da and Hieu Liem living in the natural reserve’s area. There is a road going through the natural reserve, which creates favorable conditions for hunters to mingle with people entering the forest,” he explained.

“With such a road, it is very difficult for us to control the forest, even with a large and powerful force,” he said.

Also according to Mui, the Dong Nai Natural Reserve has asked the Dong Nai provincial People’s Committee to block the inter-commune road, evacuate people to new areas and build a road on the forest’s edge.

The local authorities once intended to expand the road in a plan to build a road that connects the locality with Binh Phuoc province. 

However, Mui then asked to postpone the project because he could foresee difficulties in management.

In a document sent to the press, the local authorities said the area bordering the Natural reserve with the length of 123 kilometers is vulnerable to criminals.

A local official said that people in the two communes are very poor and their lives rely on forest resources. Therefore, it is difficult to protect the natural reserve.

Deputy Chief Secretariat of the Dong Nai People’s Committee Office Nguyen Huu Ly affirmed this was the first gaur killed in the natural reserve.


Dat Viet