Yok Don National Park

Yok Don National Park's Most Significant Highlight

Yok Don National Park's Flora

Among the 108 vegetation families, 16 boast more than 10 species each. Notable examples include Ricinus (Euphorbiaceae) with 50 species, Coffee (Rubiaceae) with 40 species, Bean (Fabaceae) with 35 species, Chrysanthemum (Asteraceae) with 24 species, O ro (Acanthaceae) and Rice (Poaceae) with 14 species each, Apitong (Dipterocarpaceae) with 13 species, and Custard-apple (Annonaceae) and Caesalpiniaceae with 12 species each. Additionally, the Mint families (Lamiaceae) and Verbena (Verbenaceae) each have 11 species, while Anacardiaceae, Combretaceae, and Cyperaceae each boast 10 species.

The Vietnam Red Book (1996) identifies 14 unique and valuable species at risk of endangerment, urging their conservation. Among these, seven are classified as vulnerable (V), one as threatened (T), and six as inadequately known (K).

Yok Don National Park boasts a rich diversity of wood species, with 227 varieties, many of which hold significant economic value such as Dalbergia, D. cochinchinensis, afzelia xylocarpa, pterocarpus macrocarpus, sindora siamensis, xylia xylocarpa, hopea odorata, and shorea siamensis, to name a few. Furthermore, the park is home to 116 medicinal species, 35 ornamental species, and a myriad of other resources that contribute to activities like knitting, handicrafts, and food production.

Yok Don National Park's Fauna

Yok Don National Park boasts a rich diversity of fauna, with 89 mammal species, 305 avian species, 16 amphibian species, 48 reptile species, 858 plant species, hundreds of freshwater fish species, and thousands of insect species calling it home. Many of these species find themselves included in the prestigious IUCN Red List.

Animals
There are currently 70 known species in existence, with 30 of them featured in the Vietnam Red Book and 17 on the IUCN Red List (IUCN 2000). This region is particularly renowned for its abundance of ungulates. Among them, the elephant, tiger, gaur, and bison stand out as vital and in need of conservation efforts.

Birds
Yok Don plays host to a diverse avian population, boasting 250 species, with 20 of them earning a spot in the Vietnam Red Book (2009). Nine of these species are endemic, and one has a restricted distribution, as per the surveys conducted by the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute (2001) and BirdLife (2002). Notable threatened species include Polyplectron germaini, Pavo muticus, Anorrhinus tickelli, Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus, Butastur liventer, Polihierax insignis, and Leptoptilos javanicus.

Reptiles and Amphibians
The park is also home to a diverse array of reptiles, with 48 species spanning 17 families, and frogs, with 16 species across 4 families. Of these, 16 reptile species (representing 29.6% of the total) feature in the Vietnam Red Book (2000). Two species are classified as Endangered (E), nine as Vulnerable (V), and five as Threatened (T), highlighting the need for conservation efforts to protect these valuable members of the ecosystem.