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"Wanted:
some rat cunning" by Tran Dinh Thanh Lam |
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Viet Nam's forests are still capable of throwing up some surprises. A recent seminar which gathered scientists from Japan, Thailand, Germany and Viet Nam in the southern province of Kien Giang has confirmed the existence of two rare species of water rat in Kien Giang's U Minh Thuong National Park. The news is especially exciting because one of the species, the Lutra Sumatrana, has been listed among the five rarest and most precious species of water rat in Asia. Evidence of water rats was first noted in central Viet Nam in 1932. Seven years later, the rodents were found in the southern provinces of Long Xuyen, An Giang and around the central city of Hue. In 1977, scientists of the Viet Nam Institute of Biology found evidence of the presence of the famous Lutra Sumatrana in the Cuu Long (Mekong) Delta, and in 2000 they got the first photograph of these reticent creatures. Scientists believe there are currently four species of water rats in Viet Nam, but their numbers are being declining as hunting takes its toll. Poachers can fetch VND500,000-900,000 per rat, and scientists reckon some 60 per cent of the water rat population has fallen victim to hunters or environmental degradation in the last decade. At the Kien Giang seminar, participants agreed to a three-year programme that will encourage people living around U Minh Thuong National Park to take part in protecting the water rats. Flavour of the forest The water rats aren't the only victims of the rampant poaching and hunting trade. The spectacle of stalls selling fresh "forest meat" or restaurants advertising "forest delicacies" can be witnessed everywhere in Viet Nam.Even in Soc Trang Province, where the nearest forest is hundreds of kilometres away, fresh forest meat is also available. Besides the usual dishes of bird, turtle and snake, restaurants are also serving up deer, wild boar, porcupine and pangolin. Some restaurant workers even lead customers to caged animals to prove the meat is authentic. |