'Temporary shelter' for wild animals

(Baonghean) - All day long, "making friends" with wild animals, rescuing them, taking care of them and waiting for the day to release them back into the green forest is the job of the staff of the Wildlife Rescue Center of Pu Mat National Park (VQG). This is truly a dangerous job, with a high risk of accidents and injuries, but above all, the love for animals and the love for the forest has helped them stick with and be passionate about their work.

In the middle of summer, the land and sky of Con Cuong are as hot as a stove, the Lam River has many exposed sections, and all animals are looking for shelter to avoid the scorching sun. The sun is at its zenith, after lunch, Mr. Phan Huu Huan took the opportunity to bathe two wild pigs locked in the pen. The two pigs were lying there panting, as if waking up, they stood up to welcome the cool stream of water, then quickly circled around the pen...

Mr. Phan Huu Huan and a monitor lizard.

Pausing his work, Mr. Huan shared: "Pigs are animals that cannot tolerate heat, so in addition to increasing their food sources and ensuring nutrition, we must regularly bathe them to prevent dehydration leading to exhaustion." After bathing the wild boars, Mr. Huan went to the monkey cage, the bear cage and the turtle cage to check. Only after finishing all that work, Mr. Huan could rest peacefully at noon...

Pu Mat National Park's Wildlife Rescue Center is a "temporary shelter" for animals confiscated from hunting and trading in wildlife throughout the province to be treated and cared for before being released into the wild. The center owns 1.5 hectares of forest and a system of cages including 5 large cages to ensure temporary rescue for the following species: carnivores, primates, porcupines, pangolins...; 1 cage to rescue ungulates; 2 rescue areas for tortoises and turtles; 6 iron cages to rescue cats, civets... At the same time, it ensures minimum equipment conditions to perform rescue tasks well such as veterinary tools, feeding and care tools, refrigerators to preserve medicine and has management records to monitor daily rescue work.

Mr. Huan led us around the barns to visit, in addition to 4 wild boars that had just bathed, there were also 6 monkeys, 2 bears, 5 monitor lizards, 11 turtles, and 1 white-cheeked gibbon. These wild animals were all confiscated by the authorities and handed over to the Center recently. After receiving them, these animals were brought back to captivity, and were cared for by the Center's staff, their wounds were treated, and they were gradually domesticated. When they recovered their health and were able to live in the wild, they were released into the core zone of Pu Mat National Park.

The rescue center has 3 staff members, including Mr. Phan Huu Huan, Mr. Nguyen Tat Ha and Thai Van Trung. All 3 brothers live in the lowlands and only have the opportunity to visit their families every few weeks or a month. Having graduated from veterinary school, the 3 people came here to contact work and were assigned the task of rescuing and caring for wild animals confiscated during hunting and trading cases.

Taking care of 2 monkeys raised at the Wildlife Rescue Center (Pu Mat National Park, Con Cuong).

Their daily work is to prepare food, care for and treat wounds (if any) for individual animals and organize sanitation and treatment of cages. At first glance, it may not seem too difficult, but when you start working, you will see that it is not simple at all. Because the food of wild animals is often different, some are omnivorous, but some are quite picky about food, finding and ordering food for the animals being kept at the center every day is not easy. In addition, each individual has its own eating preferences, forcing the staff to clearly understand their eating habits.

For example, the pair in the right cage like to eat tubers such as squash, pumpkin, sweet potato, cassava and banana; while the pair in the left cage like to eat vegetables such as sweet potato leaves, water spinach and corn. So, even though they are the same species, the care and food sources are different, requiring the caretaker to be more diligent. Or with the 5 monitor lizards being cared for, Mr. Huan can clearly understand the characteristics of each one in terms of their favorite food as well as their hiding place.

Finding food sources is not too difficult, just need to spend more time and effort, what is more worth mentioning are the risks and dangers that can be encountered when coming into contact with wild animals. With survival instincts, they are ready to attack all objects that they consider to be dangerous. In particular, wild animals that are captured by humans and injured on their bodies often become extremely aggressive, when they see the appearance of humans, they are always alert and ready to attack. Even the pair of wild boars in the first days of being brought back to the cage, every time Mr. Phan Huu Huan brought out food, they "growled" as if they wanted to jump up and bite.

One time, while he was cleaning and washing the pen, a pig rushed at his feet at full speed. Luckily, he was able to judge the situation in time and jumped up to grab the mesh used to separate the compartments. If he had not been quick, that day his calf or knee would have been “stuck” with the wild boar’s teeth.

Or another time, Mr. Nguyen Tat Ha approached a monkey that had just been trapped by the locals and had lost one of its legs. When the person entered, the monkey immediately rushed forward and scratched its hands and face to relieve its pain and anger. With other ferocious animals such as tigers, bears, crocodiles..., employees must always be alert, cautious and keep the right distance, otherwise it is very easy to have an "occupational accident".

Most of the trapped animals were injured to varying degrees, and Mr. Huan and his colleagues found solutions to treat and care for them. With normal injuries, it was not too difficult, but with severe injuries, they had to anesthetize them for surgery.

The most difficult part was when approaching to control and anesthetize them, they were in pain and struggling miserably. When they woke up, exhausted, the poor animals were "coaxed" to eat each meal by the rescuers to quickly recover. Gradually, realizing the care and concern, they began to look at the rescuers with friendly eyes, seemingly feeling that they were benefactors, even timid animals like monitor lizards.

“I can only go home to my children every few weeks. As soon as I get home, I have to help my wife with some work and then I have to think about going back to work,” said Nguyen Tat Ha. After several years working as a rescue worker, Ha realized that wild animals can feel his concern and care and respond with friendliness, reducing their aggressive instincts somewhat.

Wildlife rescuers care for two wild boars.

Gradually, he had to go somewhere for a few days, when he returned he immediately ran to the cages to check, the animals also jumped up and cried out, expressing joy. He always remembered the monkey that fell into the trap and had its leg severed, it was scratched all over its body but he still persevered to tame it. After a few months, he and the monkey almost became friends, sometimes late at night, he stood next to the monkey cage as if to chat to ease his longing for his family. Then came the day the monkey recovered its health, the leaders of Pu Mat National Park decided to release it back to the green forest.

Mr. Ha and a few others took it to the core area. When he stepped out of the cage, the monkey stood there staring at him. Everyone turned back, and it followed a distance, then climbed a tall tree to watch and howl as if to say thank you and goodbye. After returning, for several weeks, Mr. Ha could not avoid feeling sad every time he passed the empty cage where the legless monkey was kept...

Witnessing the daily work of wildlife rescuers, one cannot help but admire their silent, silent but extremely useful work. Thanks to them, many wild animals that have been hunted and traded are cared for and returned to the natural environment, contributing to the balance of the ecological environment...

PV Group