VietNamNet Bridge – In late 2012, the local people on Nhim Island and Dau
Tieng reservoir were happy to receive the new members – Nhan storks – a variety
named in the Red Book. However, the life of the nice birds has been threatened
by the poachers.
“Can you see them, the storks? Each of them is as big as a hen,” Nguyen Van Dap,
the canoe driver, told to the reporters who said they wanted to visit the
storks’ island.
“I have been carrying passengers here for the last 20 years. But this is for the
first time I can see a herd of strange storks,” he said. “At first, there were
only several hundreds of birds. But more and more have come. I guess there are
thousands storks already.”
Nguyen Tran Vy, MA from the Tropical Biology Institute, affirmed that these are
Nhan storks, named in the Red Book where they are marked as “R” (rare).
He said that the habitat of the storks are the muddy wetlands or rice paddies.
Their feeds are mainly aquatic creatures. Their reproduction period lasts from
October to April of the next year.
In Vietnam, Nhan storks can be seen in Dam Doi and Cai Nuoc in Ca Mau province,
Muong Nhe in Dien Bien, Gao Giong in Dong Thap provinces. In the world, they are
seen in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos and Cambodia.
The local people on the Dau Tieng reservoir area now feel worried for the birds.
They said that a lot of people from neighboring communes have come and tried to
catch the birds.
At first, the poachers soaked the small fished in fertilizer. At night, when
storks flew to the forests to sleep, the poachers scattered the small fish in
the areas, hoping to get the storks poisoned with the fishes.
However, their plan failed completely, because the storks only ate snails, while
they did not eat fish.
“The poachers have changed their method. They soak snails in fertilizer instead
of fish. However, the storks seem so wise. They did not eat the poisoned snails
as well,” Hieu, a local resident said.
Vy, after watching the stork, found out that the storks used their long beaks to
discover the snails under the mud layer to eat them. This means that they only
eat the live snails. Sometimes, the storks clawed dead snails, but they later
gave up them.
However, though the storks are “clever.” They are still facing high risks. A man
said that the storks were once very shy and they would stamped when hearing the
noise from engine boat. However, they have got use to bigger noise and they
would not run away if people are 100 meters far away from them.
“Therefore, poachers now can kill the birds with self-modified airguns,” he
said.
Tran Van Dien, a fisherman, said that the “working day” of poachers begins after
noon, when storks stand in groups and plume themselves. At the twilight, after
eating themselves fill, the herd of storks would fly to the cajuput forests,
where their life can also be threatened. It takes the poachers 30 minutes only
to drive motorbikes to the area to hunt for the storks.
No official figure about the killed storks has been released by the local
authorities. However, local people have affirmed that storks have been killed in
masses.
Thien Nhien