The Can Gio nature reserve was always known for two things. One: It’s listing as Vietnam’s first UNESCO biosphere reserve and two: as probably the world’s finest example of a preserved and protected salt marsh forest.
But now the 76,000 hectare ecosystem is becoming known for its at times terrifying wild monkeys which roam the reserve harassing tourists, throwing fruit, stealing food and valuables and on occasion attacking visitors to the park.
Since winning its UNESCO listing in 2000, Can Gio Park, just 50km from Ho Chi Minh City, has become a magnet for the get-out-of-towner looking for a change from the mountains of Dalat and the sand and wind of Mui Ne.
But nowhere on the park’s flyer is there any mention of teams of long-tailed monkeys plunging down from the tree tops to snatch food, sunglasses, car keys, cameras, and necklaces from tourists.
Nor is there any mention of the ambushes that occur along lonely paths which snake into the brush. Visitors are often set upon in these quiet corners of the park. Usually the little omnivores are looking for nothing more than a change from their usual diet of mangrove buds, leaves and fruit.
That’s perfectly understandable from the viewpoint of the monkey but the guests who are left with minor physical and emotional trauma aren’t as understanding.
The park’s deputy director, Cat Van Thanh, says the monkeys were first introduced into the forest as pets of the rangers close to 10 years ago.
But since running wild, the population has mushroomed to almost unmanageable numbers.
There are both salt water and brackish water mangroves in the park. Biodiversity runs high, with more than 200 species of fauna and 52 species of flora. The reserve is also an important stop gap, protecting Ho Chi Minh City from erosion and possible high seas.
And these are the points that park administrators want to focus on. Far from the screeching packs of out of control monkeys which call Can Gio home.