Bang Lang stork sanctuary is seen as one of the most attractive tourist
destinations in the Mekong Delta city of Can Tho, which with a
primitive beauty allows visitors to wallow in nature.
Located in Thot Not district, the sanctuary got its name as in the
past, the road to the sanctuary had been planted with many Bang Lang or
Queen’s Flower trees. Although there are not many of the trees along the
road now, local people and visitors still call it “Bang Lang Stork
Sanctuary”.
The area was once rice fields
surrounded by bamboo trees, nipa, tamarind and calophyllus. Storks have
resided there since 1983. Nguyen Ngoc Thuyen, owner of the sanctuary,
and his children then planted more kinds of trees to make a home for the
birds. Nine years later, the storks began setting up their nests in the
area.
“In the past, we did not care whether the
storks stayed or left. However, more and more have come to live here,”
said Thuyen. “I told my children that ‘birds nest on good land’ and
asked them to protect them. Thanks to the sanctuary, my children and
grandchildren have a chance to learn about birds like crows and storks,”
he added.
Storks often gather in large numbers
between the ninth and twelfth month of the lunar calendar. Over the past
three decades, many trees in the sanctuary have died as storks
overcrowd them.
Thuyen estimates that more than
300,000 storks of nearly 20 varieties reside in his sanctuary. According
to him, a stork lays eggs four times each year and it takes six months
for a chick to mature.
When a young bird falls down
from its nest, Thuyen brings it home and feed it until it becomes
mature. Because the sanctuary is very large and accommodates thousands
of nests, if the chick is not returned to its right place, it will be
pecked to death by the mother stork in the nest.
According to Thuyen, not all of the storks live in the sanctuary at the
same time. Two months after the eggs hatch, mother storks and their
young will leave to make room for others.
Visitors
can see the storks from a distance or from a bird’s eye-view as storks
are sensitive to strangers. However, they consider Thuyen and his family
as friends and they are the only persons who can enter the sanctuary.
The sanctuary has attracted many domestic and
foreign tourists, who have interesting experiences with different kinds
of storks.
Nguyen Ngoc Thuong, a tourist from Ho
Chi Minh City, said her family often visits the sanctuary during
holidays to relax. Moreover, her children will have a chance to
understand more about storks that they previously saw in books.
Marc Jorsgense, a US tourist, said he has visited many bird
sanctuaries. However, no place is like this as it gathers many types of
storks.
Seeing storks flying in the evening,
visitors will drift back to their childhood and mother’s lullabies and
the image of storks. -VNA