Trail Cam Spots Extremely Rare Forest Animals in Vietnam

A team of researchers set out to catalog what lives in Vietnam’s Xuan Lien Nature Reserve. They covered approximately 21,000 hectares with 35 different camera trap stations and found at least 46 species over the course of the study period, including some of Vietnam’s rarest animals.

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The researchers published their findings this month in Biodiversity Data Journal. The overall takeaway from the study is that this area of the world is a “key stronghold for small carnivores.” Among the animals the study’s trail cams spotted were ferret badgers, Asian palm civets, and several members of the Phasianidae family (a family of heavy, ground-living birds like pheasants).

“Additionally, we recorded several rare species with high conservation value,” the researchers wrote, including the vulnerable mainland serow, the vulnerable stump-tailed macaque, and the critically endangered Sunda pangolin.

Pangolins are unique scaled mammals that can roll up into a ball to defend themselves against predators. These secretive animals have long front claws, which they use to dig for insects. Sunda pangolins are one of the more endangered species of pangolin, though they’re all at risk thanks to humans who hunt them for their meat and scales.

See some more of the rare forest animals caught on Vietnam trail cams here:

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