Cat Ba National Park was established in 1986. After a re-configuration of the boundaries in 2006, the park now comprises 109 square km of land area and 53 square km of inshore waters and mangrove covered tidal zones. Cat Ba National Park was Vietnam’s first national park to include both terrestrial and marine ecosystems. The Park and the surrounding area are nationally and internationally recognized for their importance to biodiversity conservation, exemplified through the recognition of the Cat Ba Archipelago as a UNESCO Man and Biosphere Reserve in 2004. This is not only because the area has a high number of different ecosystem and habitat types but also because it possesses a great variety of plant and animal species, many of which, like the Cat Ba langur, are now rare and endangered.More than 1500 plant species have been recorded, many of which can only be found in Ha Long Bay. Seventy-two species are listed as nationally or internationally rare or endangered. Large mammals include the Cat Ba langur, the Southern Serow (Naemorhaedus sumatraensis), Rhesus macaque (Macaca mulatta), Leopard Cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), black giant squirrel (Ratufa bicolor), and civet cats (Viverricula indica, Paradoxurus hermaphroditus), many of which are endangered. The cave, land snail and butterfly fauna is rich including four species of true cave snails. The region is considered a hotspot for land snail diversity. Interestingly, the most northerly cave-adapted crab species also occurs here. In 2007, an extensive bat survey was undertaken. In total, 27 species were recorded including one new species as well as the first record of a species in Vietnam. Additionally, in cooperation with the Cat Ba Langur Conservation Project, a reptile survey was conducted in Cat Ba National Park by Dr. Thomas Ziegler from Cologne Zoo and Nguyen Quang Truong, from the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources. This led to the discovery of the Cat Ba Leopard Gecko (Goniurosaurus catbaensis), yet another species to add to the growing list of endemic and rare species on Cat Ba. Studies such as these emphasize the need to continue and enhance scientific activities and nature conservation both on the island and within the national park.
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