Endangered gaurs caught on camera in Central Highlands

Conservation efforts in Vietnam are proving successful after a herd of four gaurs was recently caught by a camera trap in the Central Highlands province of Dak Lak.

A small herd of guars, including 3 adults and a baby guar, seen drinking water from a stream in Ea So Nature Conservation Zone, Dak Lak Province.

The giant oxen, including a calf, were recorded in a 1-minute video as they drank at a stream in the Ea So Nature Conservation Zone in late June, officials said yesterday.

“This is the first time we’ve recorded images of a gaur in the zone,” Nguyen Quoc Hung, deputy chief warden at the zone, said. “There was a calf of around 1 year in the herd, showing they are reproducing.”

Conservationists estimate there are around 500 wild gaurs in Vietnam, down from more than 3,000 in the 1970s, mostly due to poaching.

The species is listed as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to rapid population decline. It is strictly protected in Vietnam.

The images of the threatened gaurs taken in Ea So are an important indicator of the results of on-the-ground conservation efforts to improve the quality of forests considered one of the world’s richest biodiversity spots.

(Source: TNO)