UPDATED at 9:28 p.m. on Jan. 28, 2025.
BANGKOK - Southeast Asia’s elusive large-antlered muntjac deer likely has a foothold in a national park in northeastern Cambodia, researchers said, after a trail camera snapped a muntjac fawn in the conservation redoubt for the first time.
Virachey National Park, part of the majestic Annamite mountains, also appears to be the most important stronghold of the northern yellow-cheeked gibbon – a species identified only in 2010 that is occasionally hunted for its meat.
The findings are the result of detailed studies in Virachey since 2018 including environmental DNA sampling, camera trap surveys and other research that highlight the park remains a biodiversity refuge despite a legacy of destructive logging.
The work, published this month by conservation group Fauna & Flora, involved the cooperation of Cambodian environment and forestry officials. It received funding from several sources including the U.K. and U.S. governments.
“Understanding the biodiversity of the park is just beginning,” said Pablo Sinovas, director of Fauna & Flora’s Cambodia program.
“These findings strengthen the case for protecting the area, which we know is currently threatened by deforestation, forest degradation, habitat fragmentation and snaring,” he said in an email.
Cambodia has destroyed about 34% of its natural forests since 2001, according to Global Forest Watch satellite data.
The studies, Sinovas said, had galvanized the establishment of a consortium funded by the U.K. to increase conservation efforts for Virachey and the broader landscape it is part of.
Camera trap surveys alone, in 2021 and 2023, allowed identification of 89 animal species including three that are recognized as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, or IUCN.
An image of a large-antlered muntjac fawn was among the more than 30,000 camera trap stills, “indicating that eastern Virachey hosts a breeding population of this highly-threatened ungulate,” Fauna & Flora said.
Large-antlered muntjacs are found only in the Annamite region that spans Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. The IUCN classifies the species as critically endangered.
Evidence of the animal’s existence mostly comes from trophy antlers in villages near or within forests and all signs point to a severely depleted population, according to the IUCN.
Fauna & Flora said hills in the east of Virachey, near the borders of Laos and Vietnam, should be a priority for further studies and protection due to the recorded occurrence of large-antlered muntjac in those areas.
Other significant threatened species recorded included the clouded leopard, Asiatic black bear, Malayan sun bear and the red-shanked douc langur – a vibrantly colored monkey endemic to Laos, Cambodia and Vietnam.
‘Most significant stronghold’
Yellow-cheeked gibbons, which live in small family groups, were studied in four different locations in Virachey.
Using analysis of vocalizations, researchers identified 332 groups of the primates known for their ability to swing from branch to branch with great speed and agility.
They estimated the entire national park has nearly 2,300 yellow-cheeked gibbon groups, based on the densities at the studied locations.
Previous research has estimated the northern yellow-cheeked gibbon populations in their only other known habitats – in Vietnam and Laos – at 260 and 50 groups respectively
“The species’ range across Indochina does span multiple protected areas, but these populations are often fragmented and likely to become increasingly more so in the future,” Fauna & Flora said.
“This study confirms that Virachey National Park is currently the most significant stronghold for this species.”
RELATED STORIES
Mekong treasures: Tiny shrew mole, fanged furry hedgehog among new discoveries
Xayaburi dam fish study raises conflict of interest questions
A conservation treasure is threatened by Indonesian plans for food security
In their search for reptiles and amphibians, researchers penetrated particularly remote areas of the Virachey wilderness.
Sinovas and amphibian expert Jeremy Holden said they tried to reach one location through nearly impenetrable terrain – “a dense thicket of bamboo and bramble with no canopy cover.”
“Our progress was sometimes limited to 200 metres per hour,” they wrote in their report.
One route, they said, “involved an eight-hour walk to cover less than two kilometres on the map.”
Edited by Mike Firn
Updated to include comment from program director.