Getting Wild

Cat Tien National Park

Not many things will induce me to get out of bed at four in the morning, don a pair of anti-leech stockings, and head into a dark tropical rainforest. But the prospect of hearing wild gibbons singing, which they only do for about twelve minutes every morning, was too awesome to pass up. So I found myself in the middle of Cat Tien National Park, 78 miles north of Ho Chi Minh City, creeping through a jungle, all to hear this incredible chorus:


Wild GIbbon Morning Call from Tina Cone on Vimeo.

I only saw one ape in the wild, far too far away to catch on video, but I did get to see several golden-cheeked gibbons at the Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre across the river from the national park. They rehabilitate gibbons found in captivity and release them back into their natural habitat.

Female Gibbon

Male Gibbon

Gibbon being moved for release

The centre also takes care of injured/captured black-shanked doucs, a type of langur monkey that also resides in the park and nearby forest. I was lucky enough to see one of them in the wild too, just hanging out in a tree.

Douc in a tree

I'm no monkey expert, but I think she might have been a pregnant female. Very heartening to see, considering the species is endangered. Here's a little video to support my conjecture, and if any primate experts are viewing this, please let me know if I'm right!

Black-shanked Douc from Tina Cone on Vimeo.

I spent my second morning in Cat Tien National Park hiking through the forest, where I saw plenty of spiders and leeches, plus some pretty awesome lizards and a butterfly the size of a bird.

Monitor Lizard

Chameleon

Giant Butterfly

The hike took me through 5km of dense forest to the beautiful crocodile lake. I didn't see any of its eponymous residents, the endangered siamese crocodile. But I did see an almighty splash when one jumped into the water, so they were definitely in there.

Crocodile Lake

Two days in Cat Tien National Park wasn't nearly enough, but I'm very happy I made the effort to go. It isn't easy to get there (A car took me door to door from my hotel in HCMC and it still took over four hours), but it is one of the few places left in Vietnam where you can appreciate wildlife in its natural habitat.

Cat Tien National Park