VietNamNet Bridge – The rare species of giant muntjac has suddenly appeared in the Pu Hu Nature Reserve in Quan Hoa district, Thanh Hoa province.

The animals found in Pu Hu Nature Reserve. Photo provided by Pu Hu Nature Reserve.

Mr. Nguyen Phuong Dong, Director of the Management Board of Pu Hu Nature Reserve, said the natural reserve had detected the presence of the giant muntjac thanks to camera traps (automatic photography).

Dong said these camera traps were set by experts in some places in the nature reserve. The camera traps set at the height of 758 m above sea level took pictures of a male and a female muntjac. The pictures were recorded 10 minutes from each others.

Results showed that these are images of the giant muntjac (scientific name as Muntiacus vuquangensis), the species announced in 1994 in Vu Quang district (Ha Tinh province).

This species is listed as endangered in Vietnam.

"The discovery of the two giant muntjacs in the same location prove the development of this rare species. At the same time, it confirms the existence of the populations of giant muntjacs in the Pu Hu Nature Reserve. This is a key finding for nature conservation and biodiversity values in the nature reserve," Dong said.

The giant muntjac, sometimes referred to as the large-antlered muntjac, is a species of muntjac deer. It is the largest muntjac species and was discovered in 1994 in Vu Quang, Ha Tinh Province of Vietnam and in central Laos.

Dong said that in December 2015, the camera traps in the Pu Hu Nature Reserve also captured many other rare animals as the grey peacock-pheasant (Polyplectron bicalcaratum), wild cats, and flying squirrel.