Vietnam

Vietnam

Summary: On four trips to Vietnam (2012 and 2024) I saw 35 species of mammals as listed in Section A below. Highlights were Ha Long Leaf-nosed Bat (endemic), Small-toothed Ferret-badger, Grey-shanked Douc and Southern Pygmy Loris.

Paul Carter: paulcarter@pacapix.com. Page Status: this page updated 15 Dec 2024.

Contents
a) Mammal list
b) Reptile list
c) List of trips to Vietnam
d) Reports
e) Logistics

A. MAMMAL LIST
Order: bats, carnivores, ungulates, lagomorphs, rodents, treeshrews, colugos, primates

  1. Lesser Short-nosed Fruitbat (Cynopterus brachyotis). TENTATIVE ID.
  2. Geoffroy’s Rousette (Rousettus amplexicaudatus). At Ba Be NP.
  3. Ha Long Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros alongensis). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  4. Andersen’s Leaf-nosed Bat (Hipposideros gentilis). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  5. Stoliczka’s Asian Trident Bat (Aselliscus stoliczkanus). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  6. Pearson’s Horseshoe Bat (Rhinolophus pearsonii). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  7. Black-bearded Tomb Bat (Taphozous melanopogon). At Perfume Pagoda; Marble Mountain.
  8. Murina sp. At Cuc Phuong NP.
  9. Southern Palm Civet (Paradoxurus musanga). At Cat Tien NP.
  10. Yellow-throated Marten (Martes flavigula). At Cat Tien NP.
  11. Small-toothed Ferret-badger (Melogale moschata). At Bach Ma NP.
  12. Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor).
  13. Burmese Hare (Lepus peguensis). At Cat Tien NP
  14. Black Giant Squirrel (Ratufa bicolor). At Cuc Phuong NP. Bach Ma NP.
  15. Pallas’s Squirrel (Callosciurus erythraeus).
  16. Perny’s Long-nosed Squirrel (Dremomys pernyi). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  17. Chinese Red-cheeked Squirrel (Dremomys ornatus). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  18. Eastern Striped Squirrel (Tamiops maritimus). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  19. Cambodian Striped Squirrel (Tamiops rodolphii). At Cat Tien NP.
  20. Indochinese Ground Squirrel (Menetes berdmorei). At Cat Tien NP.
  21. Mekong White-bellied Rat (Niviventer mekongis). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  22. Little Indochinese Field Rat (Rattus sakeratensis). At Ba Be NP.
  23. Indochinese Shrewlike Mouse (Mus pahari). At Cuc Phuong NP.
  24. Northern Treeshrew (Tupaia belangeri). At Cat Tien NP; Cuc Phuong NP.
  25. Northern Smooth-tailed Treeshrew (Dendrogale murina). At Cat Tien NP.
  26. Southern Pygmy Loris (Xanthonycticebus pygmaeus). At Cat Tien NP.
  27. Long-tailed Macaque (Macaca fascicularis).
  28. Northern Pig-tailed Macaque (Macaca leonina). At Cat Tien NP.
  29. Rhesus Macaque (Macaca mulatta). At Danang; Cat Tien NP.
  30. Southern Yellow-cheeked Gibbon (Nomascus gabriellae). At Cat Tien NP.
  31. Delacour’s Langur (Trachypithecus delacouri). At Van Long NR.
  32. Annamese Silvered Langur (Trachypithecus margarita). At Cat Tien NP.
  33. Black-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nigripes). At Cat Tien NP.
  34. Grey-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix cinerea). At Nui Thanh area.
  35. Red-shanked Douc Langur (Pygathrix nemaeus). At Son Tra; Bach Ma.

B. REPTILE LIST
DRAFT: – reptile records from only Cat Tien have been entered:

  1. Banded Krait (Bungarus fasciatus). At Cat Tien.
  2. Ruby-eyed Green Pitviper (Trimeresurus rubeus). At Cat Tien.
  3. Common Mock Viper (Psammoddynastes pulverulentus). At Cat Tien.
  4. Laotian Wolf Snake (Lycodon laoensis). At Cat Tien.
  5. Spotted Forest Skink (Sphenomorphus maculatus). At Cat Tien.
  6. Common Sun Skink (Eutropis multifasciata). At Cat Tien.
  7. Oriental Garden Lizard (Calotes versicolor). At Cat Tien Danang.
  8. Crowned Pricklenape (Acanthosaura coronata). At Cat Tien.
  9. Tokay (Gekko gecko). At Cat Tien.
  10. Flat-tailed House Gecko (Hemidactylus platyurus). At Cat Tien.

C. LIST OF TRIPS TO VIETNAM

  1. South and Central Vietnam (14 Jan – 1 Feb 2012), with Chi Phan.
    • Sites: Ho Chi Minh City, Danang, Hoi An, Hue, Phong Nga, and Cat Tien NP.
  2. North Vietnam (15-27 Nov 2012), with Chi Phan.
    • Sites: Hanoi, Cuc Phuong NP, Van Long NR.
  3. North and Central Vietnam (12-29 July 2024), with Chi Phan.
  4. South Vietnam (7-17 Dec 2024), with Chi Phan.
    • Sites: Ho Chi Minh City, Cat Tien NP.

D. REPORTS

  1. “Cuc Phuong NP (Vietnam): mammal records“. Posted 2024 Aug 18. Visited Nov 2012 (alone) and July 2024 (with Nick Cox and Le Khac Quyet). Highlights: Ha Long Leaf-nosed Bat.
  2. “Red-shanked Douc Langur at Danang (Vietnam), July 2024“. Posted 2024 Oct 7. Guided by Bui Van Tuan.
  3. “Grey-shanked Douc Langur near Nui Thanh (Vietnam), July 2024“. Posted 2024 Oct 7. Guided by Bui Van Tuan.
  4. “Cat Tien NP mammal records (Vietnam, 2024)“. DRAFT in progress.

E. LOGISTICS

  • Online Visa Application: With USA and UK passports we applied online (July, 2024) for 30-day visas at: https://evisa.gov.vn/. Processing time was three business days. From Nov 2024 if you have a “full ‘British citizen’ passport from the UK” (and a few other countries) then you “can visit Vietnam without a visa for up to 45 days for tourism or business” (UK government website – check for updates). I did not know this in Dec 2024 and I had an e-visa; the immigration officer on arrival told me I did not need the visa and that was the first time I heard about it.
  • Immigration, Baggage and Customs: Immigration and baggage inspection at Hanoi airport (July 2024) was quick and straight forward. Immigration at Tan Son Nhat Airport (Ho Chi Minh City) took an hour (Dec 2024).
  • Currency (2024 July 15): US$1 = 25,400 VND (Vietnamese Dong); it was around 21,000 in 2012.
  • ATMs (2024): The ATMs have space for 6-digit PINs. For cards with 4-digit PINs there are online reports suggesting you add two zeros at the front or end of your PIN but at HSBC my card worked when using the normal 4-digit PIN.
  • SIM Card (2024): We used Viettel. SIM cards can be purchased at the airport. In Hanoi (July 2024) we obtained sim cards at the Viettel store on the NW corner of Ho Hoan Kiem Lake (store address: 53 P. Luong Van Can). A 30-day package allowing up to 8 GB per day cost 250,000 VND ($10). In Ho Chi Minh City (Dec 2024) we bought sim cards at this store near our rental apartment close to Vinhomes Central Park.
  • e-SIM: In Dec 2024 I bought an e-SIM (through Airalo) so that I would have data on landing; we then moved to standard SIM cards so that we could have a working phone number.
  • Ride-share App: GRAB was very useful. We also used Booking.com for airport transfers.
  • Motorbike rental: In Danang (2024) it was easy to rent a motorbike from the hotel.
  • Car rental: To rent a car you need a Vietnam Driver’s Licence.

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