DAK LAK: The wildlife rescue station in Dak Lak province has for many years rescued and treated hundreds of wild animals caught in traps or injured. According to the Vietnam News Agency (VNA), the wildlife station belongs to the Elephant Conservation Centre, located in a forest area in Krong Na commune, Buon Don district in the Central Highlands province. The wildlife rescue operation was started in April 2021 and has over the years taken in hundreds of wild animals who were being hunted and sometimes left in traps. The station now is treating and caring for rare and precious wild animals such as pangolins, clouded monitors, binturongs, civets, stump-tailed macaques, rhesus macaques and ferret badgers. Mai Duc Vinh, Director of the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre, told plo.vn that the rescue station is currently caring for more than 70 wild animals some of whom were being traded illegally. Most of the wild animals brought to the station are severely injured from traps or have been kept in captivity for a long time. "Many wild animals are seriously injured from traps, suffer from necrosis and need amputation. Some have severe injuries that require multiple surgeries to heal," said staff member Le Van Hong, while pointing to a clouded monitor which has had both legs amputated. 'However, treating wild animals faces many challenges due to the lack of machinery and equipment at the station,' he said. Many times, Hong has to take wild animals to veterinary hospitals in Buon Ma Thuot city for tests, diagnosis and appropriate treatment plans. Many wild animals which have been rescued are understandably fearful of humans and thus can become aggressive. Therefore, the staff must skillfully subdue them and in the case of strong animals, they must be anaesthetised for surgery and treatment, he said. According to Hong, the wildlife rescue station currently has only three staff members. Therefore, they take turns caring for the animals, feeding them, cleaning their enclosures, and guarding against thieves. Hon g said that after more than two years of working with wild animals, he has often shed tears witnessing the severe injuries of wild animals caught in traps. After the treatment, care and nurturing process, he considers the wild animals like pets. The Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre has plans to request about 40 hectares of land for a wildlife rescue area. According to officials at the Dak Lak Elephant Conservation Centre, expanding the wildlife area will allow the unit to design enclosures following a semi-natural model, creating a suitable habitat to help wild animals recover both health and survival instincts before being released back into the wild. Source: Emirates News Agency
