The Cuc Phuong National Park in the northern province of Ninh Binh has coordinated with Save Vietnam's Wildlife (SVW) and the police in Ngoc Lac District in the neighbouring province of Thanh Hoa in rescuing two rare Owston's palm civets (Chrotogale owstoni).
An Owston's palm civet is being taken care of by veterinarian at Cuc Phuong National Park. — VNA/VNS Photo
The animals were illegally traded by two traffickers in Ngoc Lac District on September 21. The duo confessed that they bought the civets from hunters.
The animals were seriously injured in their legs, one of them in very bad condition. They are receiving treatment at the Cuc Phuong’s Endangered Primate Rescue Centre (EPRC).
Nguyen Van Thai, director of the centre, said that the park is coordinating with the centre in expanding a breeding programme aiming to preserve Owston's palm civets and release them to nature later.
A breeding area to conserve civets will be built on an area of nearly 1 hectare in Cuc Phuong National Park. When operational, it can keep up to 50 individuals of Owston's palm civets, enabling 6-10 individuals to be released to nature each year.
Owston's palm civet is native to Viet Nam, Laos and southern China. It is listed as an endangered species by IUCN because of an ongoing population decline, estimated to be more than 50 per cent over the last three generations, inferred from over-exploitation, habitat destruction and degradation.
