Cúc Phương National Park

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Coordinates: 20 ° 19 ′ 0 ″  N , 105 ° 36 ′ 30 ″  E

Relief Map: Vietnam
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Cúc Phương National Park​
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Vietnam

The Cúc Phương National Park ( Vietnamese Vườn quốc gia Cúc Phương ) is located around 100 kilometers south of Hanoi in the Vietnamese province of Ninh Bình .

Location and biodiversity

The country's sixth largest national park with 22,200 hectares is located about 56 kilometers (as the crow flies) north of the provincial town of Ninh Bình , 46 kilometers from the N 1 in mountainous terrain that is part of the "Dry Halong Bay". Its topography is essentially formed by limestone cliffs, the highest of which is the Sein May Bac ("Silver Cloud") with a height of 656  m and the alluvial land of the Red River ( Song Hong ). Its geological origin corresponds to the same processes in the tropical karst as in Halong Bay near Hanoi and in Khao Sok in Thailand . Tropical rainforest is the dominant form of vegetation. The park was opened in 1962 as the first national park in Vietnam.

The Cúc Phương National Park is rich in species. 89 species of mammals, 110 reptiles, 65 fish and 320 bird species live in the park. With around 450 larger animal species, around 38 percent of the national fauna are represented. There is also a diverse world of insects with around 1800 species, of which the millions of butterflies are particularly noticeable in spring. The butterfly season slowly begins at the beginning of March and ends at the beginning of May. During this time the air is so full that even cycling without glasses becomes impossible. An estimated 2000 plant species are also represented here, 37 of which are on the Vietnamese Red List .

Illegal clearing and poaching are among the biggest problems facing the park administration, which tries to counteract these abuses with targeted programs. In addition to the illegal animal trade - especially the rare, nocturnal loris (primates) are popular destinations because of their cute appearance - the biggest problem is the fragmentation and destruction of habitats , as well as domestic so-called ecotourism . The Vietnamese version has nothing to do with the usual Western ideas of environmentally friendly, gentle tourism. There is enormous pressure on the national parks to develop them for entertainment purposes ("fun parks"). It belongs to the framework of the Nadler project, the local Muong , still represented with two small villages in the park (the authorities forcibly relocated numerous settlers to the edge of the park in 1989), villagers and school classes from the area, as well as Vietnamese tourists by the To run enclosures in order to carry out educational work on the urgently needed nature and environmental protection. Traditional medicine, both local and Chinese, poses another problem.

Conservation breeding in the national park

There are currently three rescue centers in the Cuc Phuong National Park.

Endangered Primate Rescue Center

In front of the entrance is the Endangered Primate Rescue Center , which is run by Tilo Nadler . Currently 126 animals from 15 species, including 6 species that are only kept here, are housed. There is also an endemic species of Cát Bà with a population of 60 specimens, of which only two animals live in captivity anywhere in the world: the rarest species, the gold-headed langur or, colloquially, Cat-Ba-langur ( Trachypithecus poliocephalus ) with his typical punk-like head of hair. Furthermore, black- legged , gray- legged and red-legged robed monkeys ( Pygathrix nigripes , P. cinerea , P. nemaeus ) can be found. After their seizure, they are initially held in a quarantine station for 6 weeks, dewormed and various tests for human and simian herpes viruses , human hepatitis B virus , TBC , etc. The keeping of the animals requires precise knowledge of the menu. To do this, the zoo keepers have to have up to 159 different leaves from 53 plant species and over 30 root varieties ready for the langurs.

In 1991 Tilo Nadler came to make a film about the national park and to collect information on the endemic Delacour black langurs discovered in 1930 and believed to be extinct until 1987 . Since then, the German has been committed to the keeping and breeding of native species of monkeys and in 1993 founded the only keeping and breeding project for endangered primates in Indochina with the first poached and confiscated Delacour langur . In 2011, Nadler and colleagues described a new species of marten, the Cuc Phuong sun badger , which so far is only known from the Cúc Phương National Park.

The center's long-term goal is to release the primates and repopulate the original habitats . For this purpose, a 2-hectare outdoor enclosure with an electric fence was created, on which langurs can move in a thinned primary forest. Three different species live together on the new 4 hectare site.

Carnivore & Pangolin Conservation Program

The Carnivore & Pangolin Conservation Program (CPCP) is concerned with the conservation of small species of predator ( civets , linsangs , wild cats, otters and weasels ) and pangolins in Vietnam. The program was founded in 1995, but initially only for study purposes on the spotting roller , an endangered species of crawling cats. Gradually, the program grew and expanded the scope of work to include all small predator species living in Vietnam. In 2006 the CPCP began working with the two pangolin species found in Vietnam, the Malay pangolin and the Chinese pangolin . All of these species are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade and are considered "critically endangered" throughout South-East Asia. The CPCP works for the conservation of these threatened species in various ways: through awareness-raising work with the local population and a special training program for rangers, awareness of the topic of species conservation is to be raised. In addition, the CPCP analyzes the biodiversity of certain areas through field studies and explores safe zones for the resettlement of confiscated animals. This work is coordinated and planned in the center in the Cuc Phuong National Park. Three other important components of the center are the only breeding program for spotting rollers in Southeast Asia, the rescue and rehabilitation of confiscated animals and research projects on the behavior and keeping of the animals living in the center.

Turtle Conservation Center

Similar to primates, conservation breeding for other animal species is carried out in the national park. In the national park, for example, the Annam brook turtles , which are endemic to Vietnam and are highly threatened, are bred.

tourism

Trips to the park can be booked from Hanoi, where there is an overnight hotel in the forest. Rangers offer guided day and night tours along various hiking trails.

Sights in the vicinity of the national park

In the wider area of ​​the park there are still some important sights:

  • Jade Grottoes, Rock Temples, and Bich Dong Pagoda
  • Hoa Lu , the capital of the country from 968 to 1009
  • three caves of Tam Coc
  • Tombs of the Le Dynasty at Xuan Lam
  • Sam Son beaches
  • Văn Long protected landscape area (you may see the endangered Delacour langurs Trachypithecus delacouri )

literature

  • Thomas Barkemeier : The Cuc Phuong National Park. In: Travel correctly - Vietnam. 2nd updated edition. DuMont, Cologne 2000, ISBN 3-7701-3885-6 , p. 109.
  • Van Sinh Nguyen: Forest structure analysis in previously selectively used stands of the Cuc Phuong National Park, Vietnam . Master thesis. University of Göttingen, Göttingen 1995.
  • Eleanor Jane Sterling, Martha Maud Hurley, Minh Duc Le, Joyce Ann Powzyk: Vietnam - A Natural History. Yale University Press, 2006, ISBN 0-300-12693-X .

Web links