Asia > Vietnam > Dong Nai Nature Reserve

Summary

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Yellow-cheeked gibbons (Nomascus gabriellae) are present in Dong Nai Nature Reserve.
A minimum of 17 groups were estimated to inhabit the site in 2010.
The gibbon population trend is unknown.
The site has a total size of 100,303 hectares (including 32,400 ha of Tri An Reservoir).
Key threats to gibbons are hunting, logging, roads and agricultural encroachment.
Conservation activities include a trial for establishing another gibbon population in the reserve.

Site characteristics

Dong Nai Nature Reserve is located in the Dong Nai Province, Vietnam. Dong Nai Nature Reserve is one of the most important conservation areas in Vietnam as the site contains a high biodiversity richness. The landscape of the nature reserve is dominated by lowland semi evergreen forest, and the elevation ranges from 100 to 340 m above sea level. The reserve is one of the most important strategic watershed forests of the Dong Nai River and Tri An hydropower dam which provides drinking water for the second most populated and industrial area of Vietnam (Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010).

Table 1. Basic site information for Dong Nai Nature Reserve

Area	100 km²
Coordinates	11.405678, 107.232591
Designation	Nature Reserve
Habitat types	Subtropical/tropical moist lowland forest

IUCN habitat categories Site designations

Ape status

Surveys in 2010 recorded 15 groups of N. gabriellae with at least 31 individuals, including 13 males, 10 females and 8 juveniles, identified by their distinctive calls (Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010). In total, 69 survey days were spent surveying 34 listening posts and 34 transects. Gibbons have been extirpated in some parts of the reserve, probably due to intensive hunting and logging over the past few decades. Most gibbons persist in areas close to Cat Tien National Park, and this is probably due to better habitat and protection spill-over from the park (Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010).

Table 2. Ape population estimates in Dong Nai Nature Reserve

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	2010	31	15		Vinh An area, Ma Da sector, Hieu Liem sector of the reserve, approx. 200 km2	Fixed-point triangulation, Line transects (Distance), interview survey	Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010	Minimum of 17 groups and 31 individuals.

Threats

Hunting and logging are the key threats to N. gabriellae in this reserve; gibbons are still often sourced for the wildlife trade from this location, with an estimated minimum of five animals traded per year (Rawson et al. 2011). Forest quality is poor in areas previously logged. Several roads bisect the site and agricultural encroachment is occurring along these (Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010).

Table 3. Threats to apes in Dong Nai Nature Reserve

Category	Specific threats	Threat level	Description	Year of threat
1. Residential & commercial development		Unknown
2. Agriculture & aquaculture	2.1 Annual & perennial non-timber crops	High	Agricultural encroachment (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
3. Energy production & mining		Unknown
4. Transportation & service corridors	4.1 Roads & railroads	High	Several roads bisect the site, driving further habitat destruction (Nguyen Manh Ha et al. 2010).	Ongoing (2010)
5. Biological resource use	5.1 Hunting & collecting terrestrial animals	High	Illegal hunting with guns (Rawson et al. 2011).	Ongoing (2011)
	5.3 Logging & wood harvesting	High	Illegal logging (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		Absent

IUCN Threats list

Conservation activities

In August 2011, two groups of gibbons were released into this reserve and monitored to assess whether more gibbons could be introduced here from the Dao Tien Rescue Centre with the aim of establishing another gibbon population (Rawson et al. 2011).

Table 4. Conservation activities in Dong Nai Nature Reserve

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	Not reported
11. Habitat Protection	11.2. Legally protect primate habitat		Ongoing (2023)
12. Species Management	12.15. Reintroduce primates in groups	Two gibbons groups introduced into the reserve (Rawson et al. 2011).	2011
13. Livelihood; Economic & Other Incentives	Not reported

Conservation activities list (Junker et al. 2017)

Challenges

Table 5. Challenges reported for Dong Nai Nature Reserve

Challenge	Source
Not reported

Research activities

Documented behaviours

Table 6. Ape behaviors reported for Dong Nai Nature Reserve

Behavior	Source
Not reported

External links

References

Nguyen Manh Ha, Nguyen Hoang Hao, Tran Duc Dung, Nguyen Manh Diep, Pham Van Nong, Report of yellow-cheeked crested gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae) survey in Dong Nai Nature Reserve, Dong Nai province, Vietnam. Fauna & Flora International/Conservation International, Hanoi, Vietnam.
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.

Page completed by: A.P.E.S. Wiki team Date: 03/04/2023

Dong Nai Nature Reserve

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