New Mammal Species Discovered in Vietnam
8/22/97
*******************************
RELAYED TEXT STARTS HERE:
Headline: New Mammal Species Discovered in Vietnam
Source: Agence France-Presse
Date: 8/22/97
Copyright 1997 by Agence France-Presse
HANOI, Aug 22 (AFP) - Researchers have confirmed the discovery
of a new mammal species in Vietnam, the World Wide Fund for Nature
(WWF) said here Friday.
A team of Vietnamese scientists and the WWF said at a press
conference in Hanoi that a new species of the muntjac family had
been identified in the central Truong Son mountain chain.
Researchers recovered 18 skulls of the Truong Son muntjac in
April from hunters in Quang Nam province, who prize the animal for
its meat.
Locally it is known as "sam soi cacoon", meaning "the deer that
lives in the deep, thick forest" in the local Ca Tu language.
After genetic analysis in Copenhagen, researchers concluded they
had identified the third new species discovered in Vietnam in recent
years.
In 1992 and 1994, WWF-sponsored surveys found the Sao La oxen
(pseudoryx nghetinhensis) and the giant muntjac (megamunctiacus
vuquangensis) in remote and wild mountainous areas of central
Vietnam.
The Sao La, also known as the Vu Quang oxen, were saved from
hunters and caused an international stir when scientists said they
were from a new mammal species.
David Hulse, head of the WWF in Vietnam, called that discovery
the "biological equivalent of discovering a new planet."
However, the only two known animals died in captivity in Hanoi
after being removed from their natural habitat.
The giant muntjac is nearly twice the size of the newly
discovered species, but although researchers have recovered skulls
from the animals, no live sightings have been made.
Scientists believe the Truong Son mountain range may yield yet
more discoveries of new species, having already accounted for three
of the 10 new species identified worldwide this century.
"I think the most important significance of this discovery is
that it proves the diversified nature of the forests of Vietnam and
it means we have to try and carry out more discovery and research to
preserve and discover more and more new species," Hulse added.
Several locals described having seen the Truong Son muntjac,
which weighs about 15 kilograms (33 pounds), has a black coat and
extremely short antlers which protrude only slightly, about the
length of a thumbnail, the WWF said.
"We can be sure this is a new mammal," said Pham Mong Giao, a
zoologist from the forest protection department of the ministry of
agriculture and rural development.
"We are sure this species is not yet extinct. They live in large
mountains and jungles in an area that is thinly populated," he
said.
Giao said provincial authorities had already agreed to create a
nature preserve covering an area of 100,000 hectares, (247,000
acres) to protect the biodiversity of the area.
Vietnam has seen around 200 different kinds of birds and 120
species of wild animals become extinct in the last 40 years, either
because they end up in the cooking pot or in an apothecary.
Many endangered species such as elephant, deer and rhino also
face extinction.
There are believed to be only 200 tigers left in Vietnam due to
widespread poaching, smuggling of wild creatures abroad, especially
to China, and the critical environmental situation.
-=-=-
Want to tell us what you think about the ClariNews? Please feel
free to <> .