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Status and conservation of the giant muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis, and notes on other muntjac species in Laos

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 April 2009

R. J. Timmins*
Affiliation:
The Wildlife Conservation Society, PO Box 6712, Vientiane, Lao PDR
T. D. Evans
Affiliation:
11a Yeoman Lane, Bearsted, Maidstone, Kent ME14 4BX, UK.
Khamkhoun Khounboline
Affiliation:
Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management, Department of Forestry, PO Box 2932, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
Chainoi Sisomphone
Affiliation:
Centre for Protected Areas and Watershed Management, Department of Forestry, PO Box 2932, Vientiane, Lao PDR.
*
25 Cradley Road, Cradley Heath, Warley, West Midlands B64 6AG, UK
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Abstract

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The large-antlered, or giant, muntjac Megamuntiacus vuquangensis wasdescribed from Vietnam in 1994 and found concurrently in the Annamite Mountains and nearby hill ranges of central and southern Laos. The northerly and southerly range limits are still unknown. It may occupy a wide range of habitats and is found sympatrically with the common muntjac Muntiacus muntjak. Another muntjac species, the taxonomic affinity of which is as yet undetermined, was recently discovered to occur within its range. The large-antlered muntjac is probably not threatened with extinction in the near future, but in view of its restricted range and threats from habitat degradation and hunting, it should be classified as Vulnerable in the Red Data Book. Its future in Laos is largely dependent on the recently created protected-areas system to maintain large tracts of habitat and reduce hunting pressure.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Fauna and Flora International 1998

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