VietNamNet Bridge – The four-day fire (May 22-25) at Tram Chim-Tam Nong National Park in the southern province of Dong Thap destroyed hundreds of hectares of a special kind of grass called co nan, a favourite source of sustenance for red-headed cranes, an endangered species in Vietnam’s and the world’s Red Book.

Pham Anh Dung, an official of the HCM City Zoo, said in Vietnam, red-headed cranes mainly live in the Tram Chim-Tam Nong National Park and the number of cranes is decreasing. Previously the park had several hundred cranes, but they now number less than 100.

Because of forest fires, co nan areas are being narrowed. If the situation is not improved, red-headed cranes will leave Vietnam one day.

The recent fire at Tram Chim is guessed to have been caused by local people who entered the park to seek bee honey and catch fish. They might have been detected by forest guards and started a fire to divert rangers’ attention.

The red-headed crane is one of the largest of its kind, standing approximately 1.75m tall and weighing 8.7kg. The birds have an average wingspan of 2.5m. These cranes, once prevalent in all of Southeast Asia, can now only be found in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos. It is estimated that over 200 of the birds live in An Giang, Dong Thap, Kien Giang and Dak Lak provinces in Vietnam.

Pham Cuong