The wildlife of Cat Ba Island

Cat Ba National Park is located in Tran Chau town, Cat Hai district, more than 40km from the center of Hai Phong city. The park has a natural area of over 17,000 hectares, including 11,000 hectares of forest and more than 6,500 hectares of sea surface, with a strictly protected area of 800 hectares of primary forest.

With its favorable geographical location, convenient transportation, and many beautiful landscapes, the garden has many conditions for developing ecotourism .

Due to its topography, geology, climate, and hydrology, Cat Ba National Park has developed many different types of forests, such as evergreen forests on limestone mountains, high-altitude mangrove forests, and coastal mangrove forests. Along with these are the marine areas with coral reefs near the shore, cave systems, and valleys. In 2004, the Cat Ba archipelago was recognized by UNESCO as a World Biosphere Reserve.

Cat Ba National Park has long been an attractive trekking destination. The constantly changing terrain, from flat, gently sloping paths interspersed with rugged rocky mountain sections, will keep you excited to conquer. This is a patrol route used by the forest rangers, and it's relatively easy to navigate, allowing visitors to freely explore, learn about the flora and fauna, and take photos with ancient trees.

According to statistics, Cat Ba National Park has up to 1,585 species of forest plants, including many valuable timber species such as Dalbergia tonkinensis, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia cochinchinensis, Dalbergia tonkinensis, and Shorea spp. The park is home to 282 species of forest animals, 538 species of seabed animals, 196 species of marine fish, 771 species of terrestrial plants, 23 species of mangrove plants, 75 species of seaweed, and 177 species of coral.

In particular, the Cat Ba archipelago is home to 60 rare and endemic species listed in the Vietnamese Red Book, such as the white-headed langur, the white-legged langur, the pied crow, the black squirrel, etc.; and flora including Smilax glabra, Dalbergia tonkinensis, Ginkgo biloba, and Dalbergia cochinchinensis. Especially in the Trung Trang area, there is a forest of Ginkgo biloba, an endemic tree species that grows in colonies over tens of hectares in the center of the park. According to a recent survey, Cat Ba currently has only over 60 white-headed langurs remaining.

Heritage Magazine