Wildlife of Vietnam

The wildlife of Vietnam is rich in flora and fauna as reflected by its unique biodiversity. Saola, rare and antelope-like animal categorized under the bovine subfamily, was found in 1992 in Vũ Quang National Park. In the 1990s, three other muntjac species, the deer-like Truong Son muntjac (found in Bạch Mã National Park), giant muntjac (found in Vũ Quang National Park) and Pu Hoat muntjac (found in Pù Hoạt, Nghệ An), were also discovered.^[1][2] Conservation protection and scientific studies of the ecology of Vietnam, particularly in the protected forest areas, have been given priority attention by the Government of Vietnam. Laws were enacted to set up Xuân Thủy Wetland National Park, four UNESCO Biosphere Reserves, and Hạ Long Bay and Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Parks; the last two are also designated as UNESCO World Heritage Sites.^[1]

The rich diversity of Vietnam's wildlife includes 11,400 species of vascular plants, 1030 species of moss, 310 species of mammals, 296 reptile species, 162 amphibian species, 700 freshwater species of fish and 2000 species of marine fish.^[3] There are about 889 species of birds^[4] and over 850 species of land mollusks.^[5] However, a study by the WWF has reported that nearly 10% of the wildlife in the country is threatened with extinction. Vietnam is placed 16th highest among 152 countries studied in terms of the proportion of its wildlife species found to be in danger.^[6]