The Nam Quang Tri Special-use Forest Management Board currently manages more than 65,000 hectares of the Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve, Dakrong Nature Reserve and Ho Chi Minh Road Landscape Protection Area. Most of the area is natural forest, home to many rare wildlife species.
To research and protect effectively, since 2021, the unit has deployed the installation of camera traps in the forest. This method allows recording the distribution and collection of animals, while detecting illegal intrusion. The placement of camera traps is carried out in two directions: a comprehensive investigation using a square luoi (a distance of 200-250m) and identifying specific species by placement routes near streams and trails.
Before placing the machine, the conservation officer had to clean up the area of about 15m2 to avoid " infestation" and attach a device to the small tree trunk, with little shaking. The machine is carefully disguised, avoiding the direction of the rising sun, the battery stays there for 2-3 months. During that time, the authorities did not withdraw to avoid affecting animal behavior.
Mr. Truong Quang Trung - Director of the Nam Quang Tri Specialized Forest Management Board - said: "Phot traps not only help investigate rare species but also record cases of people entering the forest to set traps, violating forestry laws. Many subjects were detected, deterred and handled thanks to images from this device".
In May 2025, the unit deployed 68 camera traps in a sub-area in the Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve. After more than 2 months, 8,873 photos were collected, of which 5,085 photos recorded animals. The results showed that 22 species belonging to 13 families, 7 families, 2 classes were discovered. Notably, there are 5 species in the IUCN Red Book (1 species of Yearling - EN, 4 species of Yearling - VU); 7 species in the Vietnam Red Book (2 species of EN, 5 species of VU); 13 species in group IB and IIB according to Decree 84/ND-CP.
Not only through photos, during the patrol, the special-use forest officers also directly encountered a female yellow-cheeked turtle from the Central region weighing about 1kg eating tarpaulin along the stream in the Bac Huong Hoa Nature Reserve. This turtle belongs to group IB, and is in the list of endangered and priority wild animals for protection.
This is an extremely surprising result, proving that the animal system in the reserve is still maintained and developed well Mr. Trung emphasized.
The application of camera traps has opened a new direction in the management of special-use forests in Quang Tri, not only serving scientific research but also being an effective tool to protect "green lungs" and rare animals in the Truong Son range.
