Follow Vu Quang National Park staff to hunt for photos of rare animals

Difficult road to hunt for photos of rare animals

Mr. Thai Canh Toan - Deputy Director of Vu Quang National Park said that camera traps are one of the effective solutions to support the investigation and monitoring of endangered species by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). ) grants with the goal of sustainable forest management and biodiversity conservation.

Lugging our luggage onto the canoe, anchoring, surfing, we stopped at Sao La station located right on the shore of the lake. Sao La ranger station just moved here from Man Chan (Kim Quang) 3 years ago. This is the most difficult station of Vu Quang National Park. Forest roads are divided, boats are the only means of patrolling. No electricity, no phone signal, not an oasis but more difficult than an oasis.

Station chief Le Xuan Hop held an old Nokia phone and smiled, saying: "This old brick is my station's talisman. When I need information, I sneak around the mountain to see if there's any signal so I can call, but the sound is intermittent."

This morning, besides Mr. Hop, there was also Mr. Nguyen Xuan Hoang on duty. Hoang (born 1995), has been "married for thirty years" but has not yet fallen in love. I patted Hoang on the shoulder: "It's not okay to worry about preserving nature and forget about preserving the species, okay?!" Then the station chief responded:

"In a "monkey ho" place, all day long I only wear protective clothes, when I open my eyes, I can only hear the sounds of monkeys and apes, and there is no sign of women. Where can I find love with my husband?"

Not at Sao La Station but at Hoa Hai and Huong Minh Stations, and Tran Dinh Hung and Pham Duc Hieu, born in 1991, are still in anti-aircraft defense.

Stop by Sao La Station to get a compass, we set off. After 1 hour, the canoe arrived at the dock, we carried it in our hands and stopped at the temple dedicated to Dr. Phan Dinh Phung and the insurgents to burn incense and pay respects, then went to Tram Co 1 to rest and prepare our luggage. In addition to tents, tarpaulins, hammocks, pots, pans, salt sauce... there are also personal belongings.

Everything was complete, our group set off. The July sun is blazing, but through the forest canopy with 95% coverage, the sunlight creates sunflowers dancing on the road. My heart is filled with inspiration. But the deeper you go, the harder it becomes. At the end of the trail at the edge of the forest, I followed my brothers up the mountain.

Mr. Tran Dinh Anh held a knife and went ahead to clear the tangled thorny vines and vines to open the way. The first time I went into the deep forest, I had no experience. Sometimes when I tried to climb up, I would slip, so I had to hold on to the bushes on both sides to move up. As I moved up, the backpack strap got caught on a forest thorn, and I had to bother the person behind me to remove it.

"The pant legs have to be tied, let loose like that, they get stuck, squeezed, and easy to get in" - Mr. Hai (officer of the Science and Technology Department - Vu Quang National Park) reminded.

Upon reaching the mountain roof, everyone's clothes were soaked with sweat. I took a deep breath, preparing my strength to go down the mountain. Sometimes when I run sideways to avoid forest thorns, I encounter rocks blocking the path, so I have to zigzag. Into the core zone of the national forest with multi-layered trees. In addition to the layer of ancient trees, there are also tangled vines, a layer of dust, and a layer of rotting leaves.

When the sun fades, the climate is humid, horse flies, black mosquitoes, midges, and tinder flies from anywhere and stick to the head, back, and shirt. The sound of blood in the forest raised its head. The most terrifying thing is jumping and jumping on the branches and leaves. I heard goosebumps. After more than an hour of crawling and crawling, we reached the bank of the ravine. It is known that this is Rao Dragon, flowing out into Vu Quang.

The water in Rao Rong fence is dry this season. A whole horizon of rocks. The rock stands, the rock sits, each rock is bald, unruly, and challenging.

After half a hard day, the group stopped by the bank of a small stream. My first meal was right next to the stream. Braised dried fish with salt, salted peanuts, eggplant, whatever you eat when you're hungry, it's delicious. The brothers hung up their hammocks to lie down and told me many stories about going to the forest. During the rainy and flood season, you have to sleep in plastic wrap. During the dry season, the Lao wind blows like a storm. The most feared thing is that branches break and hit your head. Sometimes, I step on a honeycomb.

A few years ago, Mr. Phan Van Son was bitten by a green green snake with a red tail. He promptly gave first aid on the spot, his brothers used a stretcher to carry him out of the forest, and transferred him to the emergency hospital, but luckily he escaped...

Eventually we reached a place over 2,000m above sea level, 10km from Rao Co.

Putting down his backpack, the British officer opened his smartphone, determined the location, and selected a tree to set a camera trap. Kneel, lie down, sit, calculate the position, direction, and height for the optimal camera angle. From this random point, spread a square grid, the distance between 2 pixels is 2.5 km, with an area of ​​57,029.84 hectares, setting camera traps is extremely difficult.

Recently, through camera traps, Vu Quang National Park has discovered 40 notable species such as: giant muntjac; Mang Truong Son; Striped rabbit; Striped civet; Chamois; White pheasant; Golden Cash Chicken; Civet; Brocade cat; Elephants; Monkey mold; Golden Monkey; Pig-tailed monkey; Red-faced monkey…

Full of love for the forest

Camera traps are an "extended arm" for park rangers, real and vivid evidence that provides data for research surveys, assessments, and dissemination of biodiversity in Vu Quang National Park.

At the same time, the camera trap results in getting rid of vague guesses and illusory fog. "That's why even if we work hard even if we work hard ten or a hundred times, we still try our best."

What's more fun, when the drops of sweat, sometimes even the blood of oneself and one's teammates falling on the primeval forest, more or less ensures the basis for the international scientific community to evaluate Vu Quang National Park as a "species mine". new" and in 2018 was recognized as an ASEAN Heritage Garden.

Vu Quang National Park is increasingly known to international friends, and has been collaborating on scientific research...", Mr. Nguyen Sang Trang (Deputy Head of Department of Environmental Education and Environmental Services - National Park Vu Quang) said.

It is known that from July 1, 2024, some occupations have had salaries improved. Most officials and employees, including retirees, have received new salaries, but up to now, 64 Vu Quang National Park rangers and officials have not received new salaries.

When I arrived at Sao La Station, I hoped to see my brother Le Cong Sang, the Station Chief. But Sang had to break up with the industry, because "food and clothes are no joke with forest rangers".

Behind Sang's back, there are his sick elderly parents, his young wife, and his young children. When I wrote these lines, Sang was making a living in a foreign country. I couldn't bear to blame Sang, and I wondered how the workers here could improve their lives. Only once following them into the forest did I feel discouraged, but they had been attached to the forest all their lives, ate in the forest, slept in the forest, wore forest clothes, and were already "people of the forest".

I asked Mr. Toan: "What motivates the workers here to stick with their work?", without thinking, he said: "Love for the forest".

It was his love for the forest that made Tran Dinh Anh run to the office as soon as he was discharged from the hospital. Hai's love for the forest has made him stay there, sometimes only returning home once every two or three months. The love for the forest has made Vu Quang National Park Director Nguyen Danh Ky and Deputy Director Thai Ba Toan stay in the office and in the forest in the sun and rain, night and day, updating information and handling work.

Anyone who has ever had a close relationship with the forest will find that the forest is full of romantic inspiration. In spring, the forest sprouts young buds. In summer, the forest takes on a dark green color. In autumn, the forest is dotted with yellow... Every season the forest is colorful and fragrant.

Is there any more beautiful melody than the birds singing in the stream, the whispering wind playing the mysterious music of nature? But the happiest time is when collecting camera traps to discover elephants on Elephant Island, or white pheasants dancing, the whole office cheers like Tet.

“Every time we set camera traps, not only the rangers but also the entire agency are anxious and nervous, waiting for a silhouette, an image of Sao La - the Asian Unicorn. Just with that, we forget all the fatigue, all the hardships and difficulties" - Mr. Tran Dinh Anh shared.