People silently preserve elephant habitat in the jungle

And the people who are diligently preserving that habitat are the officers, civil servants, and employees of the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area, under the Da Nang City Special-Use Forest Management Board. They are quietly living in the middle of the forest to keep the "home" of many creatures, including wild elephants, green.

Những người âm thầm gìn giữ sinh cảnh voi giữa đại ngàn ở Đà Nẵng - Ảnh 1. — Conservation area staff on patrol

The forest is home

We met Le Van Hieu, a forest patrol officer, in a makeshift hut deep in the core of the reserve. His smile was sunburned, his eyes were red, but his voice was still firm: "This season the sun is hot, the vegetation is dry and brittle, just a small spark can burn the forest. None of us leave our positions."

Facing "fire" is a common occurrence every dry season. Forest rangers take turns patrolling day and night on forest roads, ready to rush into fire spots to put out the fire at the first sign. Some nights, the whole team has to stay in the forest until morning, covered in dust and smoke, eating rice balls in a hurry, drinking stream water instead of filtered water - just to keep the forest from turning into ashes.

They are also the ones who remove each animal trap set in the forest, patiently follow each animal's footprint, quietly patching up the holes in the safety of nature. "Each animal trap is a trap for life. Wild animals such as muntjacs, monkeys, pheasants... can all lose their lives because of them. Removing one trap means saving a chance to live," Mr. Hieu shared.

Những người âm thầm gìn giữ sinh cảnh voi giữa đại ngàn ở Đà Nẵng - Ảnh 2. — Conservation area staff are setting camera traps to monitor biodiversity.

Through the rain forest, steady patrol

The rain in the jungle here is unlike any other. It pours down in torrents, white as far as the eye can see, and cold enough to cut through the skin. On rainy days, the patrol route through the jungle is cut off by streams of red water. The streams that are normally knee-deep in water now turn into seas, flowing so fast that one has to swim across them to continue.

On the slippery trail, where the thick grass covered the canopy, swarms of leeches lurked in the dark bushes. They only needed a human footprint to jump up and rush out as if by instinct.

Yet, amidst the cold and harshness, not a single step was taken back. The forest rangers, with their backpacks damp with the smell of soil, with their eyes always following every animal footprint, still walked silently - through steep slopes, through cold forest nights, through days of endless rain. Because for them, protecting the forest is an unspoken order. It is flesh and blood. It is the belief in the source.

At the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area, there is no shortage of stories about selfless love for the profession and the forest. There are people who have been attached to the forest for decades, knowing by heart every ancient tree, every stream, every trail that the elephants often pass through.

Mr. Nguyen Long Ban, a technical officer, and his colleagues spent a whole week in the forest setting camera traps to monitor and track signs of elephants. "We are trying to preserve not only one species, but also an entire ecosystem - an intact picture of the forest. When we see healthy elephants and peaceful forests, that is our happiness," he said. The good news is that recently, a baby elephant about 6 months old has been recorded giving birth in the Na Lau area within the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area. This is a positive sign that conservation work has made significant progress in recent times in the conservation management area.

Những người âm thầm gìn giữ sinh cảnh voi giữa đại ngàn ở Đà Nẵng - Ảnh 3. — A baby elephant about 6 months old was discovered by camera trap.

Not only elephants, many rare plants, birds and animals listed in the Red Book are also being monitored, recorded and protected. Each patrol is a biological inventory: looking for footprints, analyzing feces, collecting sounds... seemingly small tasks but extremely important in restoring and preserving biodiversity.

Love the forest in every silent step

No shiny uniforms, no appearances on famous stages, but with each forest, each ancient tree still standing, are the footprints, sweat and blood of the forest rangers.

The officers and staff of the Elephant Species and Habitat Conservation Area - as they call each other "forest dwellers" - are continuing to write a beautiful story about love of nature and silent devotion in the midst of the great forest.

Những người âm thầm gìn giữ sinh cảnh voi giữa đại ngàn ở Đà Nẵng - Ảnh 4. — Conservation area staff on patrol

Rain or shine, they still choose to stay in the forest. Not only to keep the forest green, but also to preserve the intact form of nature in the heart of the ever-growing city.

When the city lights up, in a hidden corner in the west, there are still people lighting up the forest with love and responsibility. And in the echoes of the night forest, somewhere there is the sound of elephants echoing - the call of the great forest, and also a silent thank you for those who are living with nature with all their hearts.