Staff at the Vũ Quang National Park will later release animals into their natural habitats. Photos daidoanket.vn

HÀ TĨNH Over the past six years, staff at Vũ Quang National Park in the central province of Hà Tĩnh have successfully revived hundreds of wild creatures and returned them to their native habitat.

The Trường Sơn range's biodiversity has been preserved thanks to their silent contribution.

Known as the 'green pearl' in the centre of the forest, Vũ Quang National Park is situated at the base of the magnificent Trường Sơn mountain range, which is considered the second home of wild creatures.

The park, which is 1,400m above sea level, is regarded as one of Việt Nam's premier biodiversity centres and protects a wealth of important genetic resources for conservation.

The park is situated in an ecological zone that has been designated as a global priority, meaning that it is crucial for the preservation of biodiversity throughout the Trường Sơn range.

Two types of animals have been brought into the park: wild animals captured in traps and animals that have been in captivity for a long time and are donated to the rescue centre.

At the park, a lot of animals are being cared for, but none of the professional staff is in charge of this responsibility.

There isn't a dedicated facility for training and rescuing wild animals. This task must be taken on by employees of the park's Department of Science and International Cooperation. They refer to themselves as non-professional wild animal doctors.

Early in the morning, when the fog is still lingering on the hills, staff memeber Trần Thị Hồng has already arrived to prepare meals for the animals.

She cuts up fruits and forest leaves to feed the animals.

Hồng has been tasked with caring for, keeping an eye on and treating animals that have been turned over by rescuers or animals that have been hurt when they fall into the traps set by wild animal hunters.

Hồng and six other colleagues are regarded as 'doctors' of animals at Vũ Quang National Park's Department of Science and International Cooperation.

They have been treating and caring for thousands of wild animal, before reintroducing them back into the wild.

Over the past four years, Vũ Quang National Park has received and cared for 657 animals, and released 645 animals of 20 species back into the wild. Of these, nearly 100 are endangered and rare animals listed in the Việt Nam and on the world’s the red lists of threatened species such as pig-tailed macaque, red-faced macaque, sculpin, white-cheeked gibbon, palm civet, palm civet, yellow-fronted box turtle and, bordered mountain turtle.

The number of species conserved at the park is currently growing. Public awareness has changed as more and more people come to hand over wild animals to the staff.

Hồng said the absence of tools, personnel and particularly specialised training makes it difficult to treat wounds and preserve wild animals.

Many animals suffer severe injuries and are held in captivity for extended periods of time, which impairs their capacity to survive in the wild, she said.

Staff Trần Thị Hồng feeds a monkey.

"The gibbon was handed over to us for more than a year," she said, pointing to the white-cheeked animal that was bouncing around in an iron frame.

However, it will be extremely difficult for this species to survive if it is returned to the wild because it has lost its ability to survive there as a result of people keeping it in captivity for a long time and feeding it items like rice, cakes and fruits, she said.

“Or the red-eyed monkey, it is now staying close to humans. Whenever it sees human, it runs to hug their legs. Now it is difficult to release it back into the wild,” she said.

The 'animal doctors' at Vũ Quang National Park not only care for and treat wild animals, but also have to retrain them to survive.

After they have fully recovered, animals that were first captured from the forest and are acclimating to their natural habitat will be returned to the region where their species is found.

Long-term captivity will prevent animals from returning to the forest since they will no longer be able to locate food for themselves. If released into the wild, they will no longer be able to survive in this environment.

“We have to spend a lot of time reawakening their inherent survival ability,” Hồng said.

Nearly 180 wild creatures were brought to the park in 2024, although not all of them were fortunate enough to go back to their native habitat. Some animals will have to live in captivity for the rest of their lives because they were so sick that they could no longer thrive in their natural habitat.

Head of the park’s Department of Science and International Cooperation Nguyễn Việt Hùng said the park has seen a significant rise in animals in recent years as a result of public awareness improvements and the promotion of wildlife protection.

The establishment of a professional rescue centre is required to guarantee the finest circumstances for animal care following the receipt of animals. But since this has never been done before, there were occasions when Vũ Quang National Park's animal captive section was nearly overcrowded, he said.

He said the unit's budget is still constrained by a lack of equipment and inadequate training for animal rescue staff.

"We are hopeful that this task will receive the attention it deserves so that wildlife rescue is always ensured in the most effective manner," he said. VNS