Pham Tuan Linh, director of Yok Don National Park in Daklak Province, said on October 7 that a flock of nine rare woolly-necked storks had recently been recorded in the park.
A flock of nine woolly-necked storks appears at Yok Don National Park (Photo: Y Siem H'Dok).
On the morning of October 6, the birds gathered on a grassland near Dak Rang Stream to forage, Linh said. A guide from Yok Don National Park captured images of the birds, recognisable by their distinctive white necks and broad wings, as they moved through the park's dry dipterocarp forest.
After the flock was discovered, park authorities instructed rangers and other forces to increase patrols and guard the area, preventing unauthorised entry and illegal hunting or capture of the protected birds.
Linh said this was not the first time woolly-necked storks had appeared at Yok Don. Several individuals were recorded in the park in July, but they were scattered and few in number. This time, nine birds were spotted, all adults.
The species is rare and at risk of extinction (Photo: Y Siem H'Dok).
The woolly-necked stork, scientifically known as Ciconia episcopus, is recognisable by its white-feathered neck and glossy black body and wings. Its head is black, with a black bill tipped in dark red.
The species is considered rare and faces a risk of population decline. It is listed in Group IB, a category covering threatened forest animals given priority protection and subject to a ban on exploitation.
Woolly-necked storks forage at Yok Don National Park (Photo: Y Siem H'Dok).
Woolly-necked storks have currently been recorded in five provinces and cities: Daklak, Lam Dong, Dong Thap, Dong Nai and Ho Chi Minh City.
Yok Don National Park covers more than 115,000 hectares, with its forests extending across Daklak and Lam Dong provinces and bordering Cambodia.
The park is known for its rich biodiversity, with more than 1,000 plant species and 650 animal species, including many rare species.
In November 2024, Yok Don National Park was recognised with a national record as the largest protected ecosystem of dry dipterocarp forest, a type of open, broad-leaved forest whose trees shed their leaves seasonally, in Vietnam.