VietNamNet Bridge – Hundreds of siki white-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus siki) have been found in the Dong Chau- Khe Nuoc Trong forest in the central province of Quang Binh. This is the largest number of this species recorded in the jungles in central Vietnam.

The gibbons were discovered in a recent survey of experts from the Vietnam Nature Reserve Center and the Vietnam Union of Sci-tech Associations in Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong forest in Kim Thuy commune of Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province.

Scientists noted up to 60 groups of siki white-cheeked gibbons in nine areas in Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong jungle, the largest ever found in the central region.

The scientists from the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations also surveyed the forests along the Ho Chi Minh Highway, the section from Cau Khi (Monkey Bridge) to Cong Troi (Heaven Gate) and recorded nine groups of red-shanked douc (Pygathrix nemaeus), numbering from 98 to 108 individuals.

The Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development has proposed Quang Binh authorities to turn Dong Chau-Khe Nuoc Trong forest into a nature reserve from now to 2020, with an area of about 20,000 hectares.

International conservation organizations have determined this region as the key biodiversity area in the biodiversity corridor between Vietnam and Laos.

This area is appreciated for high biodiversity with many species of animals, including many endangered ones such as Saola, pangolin, red-shanked douc, and the giant muntjac.

The southern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus siki) is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam and Laos. It is closely related to the northern white-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus leucogenys) and the yellow-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae); it has previously been identified as a subspecies of each of these.

Currently, scientists don’t have complete statistics on the number living in the wild in Vietnam.

Hoang Hai