travel-Tram Chim National Park preserves rare and endangered species

Tram Chim National Park comprises 7,600 hectares of protected wetland in Tam Nong District, Dong Thap province, 240 kilometres southwest of Ho Chi Minh City. The Vietnamese Government recognised Tram Chim as a national park in December 1998, thus preserving one of the last extensive remnants of grasslands and freshwater swamp forests in the Mekong Delta.

Tram Chim (Bird Marsh) is in one of the lowest areas of the Mekong River floodplain, and monsoon floodwaters inundate the area four to six months every year. Peak floods may reach five metres. During the wet season (June to November), Tram Chim looks like a huge lake dotted with islands of melaleuca, a species of the paper-bark tree, Melaleuca cajuputi. During the dry season (December to May) visitors can find vast grasslands intermingled with melaleuca.

The grasslands and forests of Tram Chim harbour a diverse large of lush, freshwater wetlands ecosystems with more than 160 native plants, over 200 bird species, and 60 species of freshwater fish.

Tram Chim is now the only place in the Mekong Delta with extensive areas of wild rice (Oryza rufipogon) and lotus (Nelumbo nucifera). Above all, Tram Chim is famous for its birds. Twelve species of birds recorded at Tram Chim are classified as globally threatened or near-threatened, including the sarus crane, Bengal florican, greater adjutant, lesser adjutant, greater spotted eagle, black-headed ibis, black-faced spoonbill, painted stork, Asian openbill, oriental darter, grey-headed lapwind and Asian golden weaver.

The eastern sarus crane (Grusantigone sharpii) is the park's most important species. The discovery of a large flock of sarus cranes in 1984 attracted attention from conservation groups and government agencies, resulting in the site's declaration as a provincial protected area and, finally, as a national park. The magnificent sarus crane is the world's tallest flying bird. It migrates between breeding grounds in northern Cambodia and southern Laos and non-breeding areas in northwestern Cambodia and the Mekong Delta.

Sarus cranes start to move to non-breeding areas in December and return to breeding sanctuaries in May-June. Tram Chim grasslands provide a key non-breeding area for cranes. The number of sarus cranes flying to Tram Chim is highest during March and April.

Visitors wishing to see the cranes close-up should wake up very early in the morning and hide behind the blinds built near the cranes' feeding areas before the birds arrive at day-break. The cranes' fantastic dances and unison calls are well worth the effort! Visitors who paddle small wooden canoes around the quiet and peaceful grasslands and swamps of Tram Chim find themselves among thousands of wandering water birds. Those who love fishing can ask the Tram Chim staff for a special catch-and-release permit for designated park areas.