PHNOM PENH, Jan 22 (NNN-AKP) – A comprehensive survey discovered the presence of a vast array of threatened species in Cambodia’s Virachey National Park, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Environment said, yesterday.
Khvay Atitya, who is also an undersecretary of state for the Ministry of Environment, said, the survey found a number of threatened species, such as the red-shanked douc langur, Sunda pangolin, clouded leopard, dhole and sun bear.
“It also recorded a number of species for the first time in Cambodia, including the critically endangered large-antlered muntjac, two bat species, a species of glass lizard, and a gecko,” he said.
First established in 1993, Virachey National Park, situated in north-east Cambodia, is one of the largest protected areas in the country.
It is a relatively untouched haven for biodiversity, with an area of approximately 332,500 hectares and is home to a vast range of species found nowhere else in the world, many of which are yet to be discovered.
“The data we have collected is critical to a better understanding of what species live in the park and where, and what the current threats to them are,” Atitya said.
The survey was conducted in 2021 and 2023, by Fauna & Flora, in cooperation with the Ministry of Environment and local communities.
A total of 153 cameras were deployed across the park, detecting a total of 89 species, including 20 globally threatened species on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, according to the survey report.– NNN-AKP
