Pay back the debt with the forest

Nearly 30 years as a hunter, he is a famous veteran hunter in the region, but for nearly 10 years, Mr. Le Van Hien, Thanh Son commune, Kim Bang district (Ha Nam) has determined to ‘guard the gun’, voluntarily Participating in conservation of white-assed langurs – a rare animal in the list of the 25 most endangered animals in the world is in danger of extinction. He is honored to be the second person from Vietnam to be recognized as a ‘Hero of Conservation’ by the International Wildlife Organization (FFI).

Mr. Le Van Hien (sitting in the middle) and members of the Community Conservation Group record data on white-assed langurs living in Thanh Son forest. Nearly 30 years as a hunter, he is a famous veteran hunter in the region, but for nearly 10 years, Mr. Le Van Hien, Thanh Son commune, Kim Bang district (Ha Nam) has determined to “guard the gun”, voluntarily Participating in conservation of white-assed langurs – a rare animal in the list of the 25 most endangered animals in the world is in danger of extinction. He is honored to be the second person from Vietnam to be named a “Conservation Hero” by the International Wildlife Organization (FFI). Old story with the forest Born and raised on the edge of Thanh Son forest, Kim Bang district, the childhood days of the boy Le Van Hien and the children in the village were always intimately attached to the forest. Mr. Hien’s childhood at that day was the series of days following his parents to the forest to pick bamboo shoots, catch animals, cut down trees and burn coal to make ends meet. Mr. Hien still remembers that at that time, he had just finished primary school and dropped out of school to go to the forest. Because they are still young, they mainly follow the old hunters in the village to go to the forest to hunt wild animals and bring them home to use as improved food. At the age of 17, he gathered enough money to buy his first hunting rifle, and officially became a hunter. At that time, the young man Hien’s skillful hunting skills with sharp eyes quickly became a “nightmare” of Kim Bang forest animals at that time. After returning from the army in 1983, Mr. Hien continued to work in the forest to hunt for a living. An individual of white rump. Sitting on the porch, right at the foot of the forest, with the hot tea pot and the yellow civet, looking towards the edge of the forest, Mr. Hien recalled. In the past, there were many wild animals in Thanh Son forest, all kinds of things. After every night when I came back from the forest to hunt, I had to hire someone to take home the animals. Animals are displayed in the house: chamois, baskets, civets, porcupines, donkeys, pangolins, monkeys, langurs … A chamois is worth a few pounds of paddy, a monkey or semi-cooked langur can measure several tons of paddy. , traders to take place to buy. Thanks to that, my family’s economy is getting better and better day by day. At that time, I used to think that I would stick with hunting for a lifetime. Smoking pipe tobacco, releasing white smoke, Mr. Hien talked. But later, the animals in the forest were also more and more depleted, and the authorities at all levels also propagated a lot about the protection of rare animals. At that time, there were many wildlife research groups of organizations coming here to penetrate and learn. Knowing that I have experience in the jungle, experts invited me to join groups of experts on surveying and researching in Kim Bang forest. I remember forever when I accepted the invitation for a month to lead expert Le Van Dung (in Cuc Phuong National Park) to investigate the white-assed langur in Kim Bang. It was the first time in many years that I went into the forest without a gun. A week watching the white-rumped langurs, the golden monkeys through the binoculars, the far angle, wider than the flyhead, I watched the two orange-colored langurs wrapped in tangerine on my mother’s side, the father langurs taught their children to eat. They play happily together like children. Again, Uncle Dung always cooed and advised me “Let go of the gun!”. Once he saw that I was watching intently two baby langurs, he put in my ear: You see, they have the same love as humans. If one child in the family dies, the others will be sad and stop eating. Mother langur dies, children will also die. At that time, I just kept quiet and began to regret my previous hunting actions. After every trip with the primate researcher returned, there were long nights when I had no sleep. The night I lay, I looked up at the ceiling, then looked at my two little children. The round black eyes of the baby langurs haunt me again. After that, I understood and realized the preciousness of forest resources to be protected. But because of my living life, I also struggled with ideas. It took many nights of thinking and pondering that I decided to discuss with my wife to quit the job of hunter. Unexpectedly at that time it was my wife who was the first to support me to quit the job, although knowing that it was a series of difficult days for the whole family. It took me two years to scramble to find a job. At times, I worked as a drill and blasting worker for a rock breaking business. Uncertainty work is more dangerous, only when I get home will my wife and children feel assured that I am back alive and breathe a sigh of relief. But I think I gave up my job as a hunter and went to work as a mine blasting worker. It also affected the langurs and monkeys in the forest. Then I became bored again and quit the job as a mine blasting worker. I turned to invest in raising pigs, chickens, cultivating with my wife and children to make ends meet. Mr. Hien said, I am very lucky and proud to have a wife of algae and always beside me to encourage me to share with me. Up to now, I still remember her encouraging words to motivate me to overcome difficulties in life. Before when I was hunting, when I wore wild animals, she was happy, but now, no matter what she brought from the forest, she could not agree, because my job was to protect the cave. , the plants in the forest. If we do that, we can protect someone, tell who they hear. She said: From the day you quit the job as a hunter of wild animals, you were like a glass of filtered water, now if you come back then you will make it more cloudy, that I never want. So since I quit the job as a hunter, my heart has been relieved. Pay the debt with the forest Thanks to the hunting profession, Mr. Hien has more than half of his life attached to the forest and belongs to Kim Bang forest like the palm of his hand. He no longer goes to the forest to hunt animals, but every day, Mr. Hien still wants to go back to the forest and do something. That is useful, practical to repay the debt with the forest. At the beginning of 2016, Mr. Le Van Hien led experts from the International Organization for the Conservation of Wildlife and Fauna to Kim Bang Forest to survey the white-ass langur. The important information he provided that day helped scientists and experts of the International Wildlife Organization to discover the second largest population of white-lipped langurs in the world. Kim Bang. At the end of 2016, the International Wildlife and Fauna Conservation Organization (FFI) came to Kim Bang to implement a conservation program of white-ass langur. Without hesitation, Mr. Le Van Hien volunteered to participate, then the Community Conservation Team was established and he was appointed as the leader. Since then he was very happy, because I had the opportunity to return to the forest, but this time back to the forest with a different mindset – a leader in the protection of the forest and rare mascots. The work of the patrol team is to remove animal traps, monitor the location and habitat of the white-ass langur and the animals in the forest. When detecting destructive behavior, hunting animals, the team will notify the forest rangers to handle. Since then, Mr. Hien has taught himself how to use cameras, positioning equipment, and how to divide forest plots to mark the position of langurs. Four years of tracking, observing and recording many valuable images from the herd of white rump langurs living in Kim Bang forest. He is very passionate and enthusiastic when talking about langurs. He said, I just saw the streak of broken branches, smelled the urine and knew how many days ago the langurs ate in this area. He also belongs to each species of tree that langurs like to eat. In the herd, the strongest male langurs lead the way, providing a good environment for other animals to eat. Baby langurs are picked up by the whole herd when the mother goes to eat. Young male douc that reaches adulthood (6 years) will fight the dominant male. The male loses, leaving the herd, wandering alone (local people often call it “poisonous”) to lure the females to follow and form a new herd. The knowledge about langur behavior was carefully recorded in the notebook, passed on to the members of the nest. Tens of thousands of pictures and videos of langurs were sent by him to primate experts. Each trip to the forest of Mr. Hien and his teammates lasted from three to seven days, a month, his team members had to go and stay for up to 16 days in the forest, but he could be better. After four years of establishment and maintenance, the Kim Bang District Community Conservation Group, headed by Mr. Hien, has made active contributions to the conservation of forest diversity, especially the white-ass langur. As a result, the population of white-lipped langurs in Kim Bang forest is growing day by day, there are 12 herds with about 110 individuals, the second largest in the world, after Van Long Wetland Reserve, Ninh Binh province. Mr. Le Van Hien shared that the motivation for him to actively participate in activities in the biodiversity protection in general and the conservation of the white-crowned langur in particular in Kim Bang forest came from the anxiety about the work damages his forest while hunting and wishes to “pay his debt to the forest”. I hope everyone will join hands to protect the white-assed langur that nature has bestowed on Ha Nam forest. The authorities soon finalized the procedures to establish a planned protected area so that the patrol was less strenuous. At the same time, it is necessary to promote propaganda about the practical meaning of forest protection to all strata of people, especially in schools, so that children can knowingly and consciously participate in protecting the white-crowned langur. It is very rare in the locality, because now many children do not know what langurs are. In order to deserve the title “Conservation Hero” awarded by the International Wildlife and Fauna Conservation Organization, Mr. Hien will work with members of the Kim Bang District Community Conservation Team in their efforts to complete their graduation. to protect the biodiversity of Kim Bang forest, conserve the population of white-shanked douc langur – a rare animal in the list of the 25 most endangered animals in the world that are in danger of extinction.