Cat Tien National Park

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Summary

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• Southern yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) are present in Cat Tien National Park.
• It has been estimated that a minimum population of 149 groups occurs in the park.
• The gibbon population trend is unknown.
• The site has a total size of 738.8 km².
• Key threats to gibbons are agricultural encroachment, logging, and the illegal pet trade.
• Conservation activities have focused on boundary demarcation, awareness raising, and release of confiscated gibbons.

Site characteristics

Cat Tien National Park is located in southern Vietnam. The park is one of the most secure in the country, in terms of its capacity to protect biodiversity. The park and its surrounding area contain one of the two largest populations of southern yellow-cheeked gibbons (Rawson et al. 2011). Due to its remarkable biological diversity, the park was listed by UNESCO as the 411th biosphere Reserve Zone in the world in 2001 ([https://whc.unesco.org/en/tentativelists/5070/ UNESCO).

Table 1. Basic site information for Cat Tien National Park

Area	738.8 km²
Coordinates	11.424111, 107.210672
Designation	National Park
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

There are at least 300 gibbon groups in just two areas: Bu Gia Map National Park and Cat Tien National Park and their respective surrounding forests (Rawson et al. 2011). At Cat Tien National Park, the population is supplemented by gibbons in Dong Nai Nature Reserve and adjacent state forest enterprises. The first population estimates were made until surveys were conducted in 2004-2005. In this census, 149 groups were detected at an estimated density of 0.52 (±0.47) to 0.72 (±0.08) groups km2 (Rawson et al. 2011). Based on the raw data of Kenyon (2007), the total population of the park may exceed 300 groups (derived by applying a correction factor of 0.92 to Kenyon’s raw counts, and re-calculating gibbon density assuming a 1.5 km listening radius and stratified by park sector) (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Cat Tien National Park

Species	Year	Total number indiv. (95% CI)	Total number groups (95% CI)	Density ​​[groups/km²​] (95% CI)	Area	Method	Source	Comments	A.P.E.S. database ID
Nomascus gabriellae	2004-2005		149	0.52 (±0.47) to 0.72 (±0.08)	Cat Tien National Park	Unknown	Kenyon 2007 as cited by Rawson et al. 2011
Nomascus gabriellae	2010	Present			Cat Tien National Park	Unknown	Rawson et al. 2011

Threats

There is a demand for captive gibbons, many of which are sourced from Cat Tien, Dong Nai Nature Reserve, and surrounding forests (Rawson et al. 2011). Every live gibbon in captivity represents many gibbons killed in the process. Based on interviews with traders, at least 24 gibbons were traded in Dong Nai Province in 2007-2008, which were sourced from Cat Tien NP and Dong Nai NR (Rawson et al. 2011). Habitat loss and degradation are also main threats impacting southern yellow-cheeked gibbons in Cat Tien. Agricultural encroachment and illegal logging have resulted in reduced availability of habitat, connectivity between forest blocks, and availability of food trees (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Cat Tien National Park

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Quantified severity	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development	1.1 Housing & urban areas	Present, but threat severity unknown		Ongoing infrastructure development in and around the area is reducing the size and quality of gibbon habitat and is increasing access for hunters (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High		Large areas within the park are zoned as agricultural land where park management has no authority; shifting cultivation is also present (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors		Unknown
5. Biological resource use	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High		Some illegal logging occurs at the site; most of the park has been commercially logged (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
6. Human intrusion & disturbance		Unknown
7. Natural system modifications		Unknown
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases		Unknown
9. Pollution		Unknown
10. Geological Events		Absent
11. Climate change & severe weather		Unknown
12. Other options	12.1 Other threat	Medium		Capture of gibbons for illegal pet trade. Gibbons are caught by shooting mothers who fall clutching their infants. If they survive the fall, the infants are taken (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

Table 4. Conservation activities in Cat Tien National Park

Category	Specific activity	Description	Year of activity
1. Residential & commercial development	Not reported
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	Not reported
3. Energy production & mining	Not reported
4. Transportation & service corridors	Not reported
5. Biological resource use	Not reported
6. Human intrusion & disturbance	Not reported
7. Natural system modifications	Not reported
8. Invasive & other problematic species, genes, diseases	Not reported
9. Pollution	Not reported
10. Education & Awareness	10.1. Educate local communities about primates and sustainable use	Community awareness campaigns were conducted around the park including 22 schools in five districts, which focused on gibbon conservation (Rawson et al. 2011).	2004-2005
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat	The site is a National Park.	Ongoing (2022)
	11.6. Demarcate and enforce boundaries of protected areas	Boundary demarcation (Rawson et al. 2011).	1998-2004
12. Species Management	12.16. Reintroduce primates as single/multiple individuals	In 2008, the Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre was established in the park. The centre’s objective is to house confiscated primates prior to release in the park (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Cat Tien National Park

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Cat Tien National Park

Behavior	Source
Not reported

References

Rawson, B. M, Insua-Cao, P., Nguyen Manh Ha, Van Ngoc Thinh, Hoang Minh Duc, Mahood, S., Geissmann, T. and Roos, C. 2011. The Conservation Status of Gibbons in Vietnam. Fauna & Flora International/Conservation International, Hanoi, Vietnam.
Kenyon, M. A. (2007). The ecology of the golden-cheeked gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) in Cat Tien National Park, Vietnam. PhD thesis. Anatomy School. University of Cambridge, Cambridge.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 11/04/2022