The Cu Chi Wildlife At Risk (WAR) Organisation is located close to the Cu Chi Tunnels which is a good one and a half hour drive or 50 kms away. The car proceeds slowly through the city traffic before picking up speed in the suburbs and then onto picturesque country roads. Bordered for many miles by rubber plantations, the trees planted in straight rows with the basin attached to the trunk, it creates a shady aspect along which to drive. Interspersed with the rubber plantations are the vibrant green paddies of developing rice shoots and small villages where the men are sitting on the side of the road in small tea houses, chatting and socialising. The women were, generally, working behind the roadside fruit and vegetable stalls or in the paddy fields. One woman was fishing in a beautiful lake wearing her conical hat and traditional pyjamas, the epitome of country Vietnam. There were not many domesticated animals evident but we did see one or two water buffalo wallowing in the shallow waters of the paddy fields and even a couple of small ponies.
Our driver stopped frequently, as we got closer to our destination, to clarify the direction and location of our destination with local villagers. These were often contradictory as we noticed arms waving in one direction and then another villager wave the opposite way. We finally arrived however, and were greeted most warmly by the Manager, Mr Lam, who was taking the time to show us around. We deemed ourselves very fortunate as he spoke excellent English, although his pronunciation of the animal called a pangolin (scaly anteater) left many of us wondering about the possibility of penguins in Vietnam. We were relieved when this misunderstanding was clarified.
Mr Lam explained to us that the centre is committed to the conservation of Vietnam’s endangered wildlife and that this includes tackling the issues involved in the illegal wildlife trade. They only have a relatively small area of 4,000 square metres in which to house their sixty different species of animals but returning the animals to the wild, which is the ultimate aim of the centre, can be fraught with difficulties.
The animals in the centre included Moon Bears and Sun Bears, differentiated by their size and markings. The Sun Bears are smaller and do not hibernate. These bears are a vulnerable species mostly due to the deforestation of their habitat and hunters who kill them for their body parts. There are many reptiles represented here including a king cobra who lay curled up looking like a coil of thick rope, dainty turtles who are hunted for food consumption, porcupines, water monitors, and pangolins. A Javan Pangolin (Manis javanica) was born here in July. It weighed roughly 300 grams and was covered by soft scales. The mother breastfed her baby, which clung to its mother’s tail when moving. Now it is a few months old it is fed on ants' eggs and moves independently.
The highlight of the visit was seeing the various species of gibbons , who screamed and cried out to us, banging on the wire enclosures until we paid attention. These social animals had our group entertained with their cheeky antics, some species with long tails, others without. Mr Lam explained some of the unique features of the various species. The yellow and black gibbons were male and female. The young ones are born yellow but turn black at about a year old, the females then turn yellow again. The yellow cheeked crested gibbons are diurnal (most active at dawn and dusk) and they sing at the same time every morning. All the gibbon species were endangered because of illegal hunting then sold as exotic pets or for medicines and even to make glue.
Mr Lam explained that it was essential that well- meaning westerners not buy any wild animals offered to them for money. While they may think they are doing the animal a favour he said that it just encourages the traders when they earn money from their illegal business.
Our visit to Cu Chi Wild Life Park was extremely enjoyable and informative. For more information visit their website
www.wildlifeatrisk.org
Address : WAR, No 50, Road 15, An Nhon Tay Commune, Cu Chi District, HCMC
Telephone : (+84) 8 3794 7045
WAR depend on sponsorships and donations to survive so if you would like to support this extremely worthwhile enterprise visit their website to find out details.