The wildlife of Laos encompasses the animals and plants found in the

Lao People's Democratic Republic Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west an ...

, a landlocked country in southeastern Asia. Part of the country is mountainous and much of it is still clad in tropical broadleaf forest. It has a great variety of animal and plant species.

Geography

Laos is a land-locked country located in southeastern Asia. The northern part is mountainous, with the

Luang Prabang Range The Luang Prabang Range (, ), named after Luang Prabang, is a mountain range straddling northwestern Laos and Northern Thailand. Most of the range is located in Sainyabuli Province (Laos), as well as Nan and Uttaradit Provinces (Thailand), w ...

separating the northwestern part of the country from Thailand. The

Xiangkhoang Plateau The Xiang Khouang Plateau or Xiang Khwang Plateau, also known in French as Plateau du Tran-Ninh is a plateau in the north of Laos. The landscape is characterized by green mountains, rugged karst formations and verdant valleys with plenty of river ...

separates these mountains from the Anamite Range, a chain of mountains which run parallel with the Vietnamese coast, and mark the easternmost boundary of the country. The west of the country is mostly bounded by the broad

Mekong River The Mekong or Mekong River ( , ) is a transboundary river in East Asia and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of rivers by length, twelfth-longest river and List of longest rivers of Asia, the third-longest in Asia with an estimated l ...

, and the south is the

Bolaven Plateau The Bolaven Plateau is an elevated region in southern Laos. Most of the plateau is located within Champasak Province of Laos, though the edges of the plateau are also located in Salavan, Sekong and Attapeu Provinces. It is located between ...

at some above

sea level Mean sea level (MSL, often shortened to sea level) is an mean, average surface level of one or more among Earth's coastal Body of water, bodies of water from which heights such as elevation may be measured. The global MSL is a type of vertical ...

. Laos lies in the monsoon belt and experiences a rainy seasons between May and November when much rain falls, and a dry season without rain from December to April. This results in a natural

forest cover Forest cover is the amount of trees that covers a particular area of land. It may be measured as relative (in percent) or absolute (in square kilometres/ square miles). Nearly a third of the world's land surface is covered with forest, with clos ...

of deciduous, broadleaf trees, that lose their leaves during the dry season. There is a distinct rainy season from May to November, followed by a dry season from December to the middle of April.

Habitat

Much of Laos is still covered by natural forest and six different species of

gibbon Gibbons () are apes in the family Hylobatidae (). The family historically contained one genus, but now is split into four extant genera and 20 species. Gibbons live in subtropical and tropical forests from eastern Bangladesh and Northeast Indi ...

are found here, all of which are threatened by being hunted for food and by reduction in forest cover. The Annamite Range has a high level of

endemism Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

and is home to the critically endangered

saola The saola (''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), also called spindlehorn, Asian unicorn, or infrequently, Vu Quang bovid, is a forest-dwelling bovid native to the Annamite Range in Vietnam and Laos. It was described in 1993 following a discovery of ...

(''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''), the

Annamite striped rabbit The Annamite striped rabbit (''Nesolagus timminsi'') is a species of rabbit native to the Annamite mountain range on the Laos-Vietnam border. The rabbit is striped, with a red rump, and resembles the Sumatran striped rabbit. It only recently be ...

(''Nesolagus timminsi'') and the

Truong Son muntjac The Truong Son muntjac or Annamite muntjac (''Muntiacus truongsonensis'') is a species of muntjac deer. It is one of the smallest muntjac species, at about , half the size of the Indian muntjac (or common muntjac). It was discovered in the Truon ...

(''Muntiacus truongsonensis''), all of which have only been discovered in the last two decades. In the south of the country, mostly within about of the Mekong River, there are wetlands and swamp forests. These include lakes and ponds, some permanent and some temporary, swamps, and seasonally-flooded grasslands, and these and the surrounding woodlands support a

biodiverse Biodiversity is the variability of life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distributed evenly on Earth ...

community.

Flora

Much of Laos still retains its natural

tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forests The tropical and subtropical dry broadleaf forest is a habitat (ecology), habitat type defined by the World Wide Fund for Nature and is located at tropical and subtropical latitudes. Though these forests occur in climates that are warm year-roun ...

, and some areas consist of secondary forests growing where timber has been extracted from the

primary forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without Disturbance (ecology), disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organizati ...

. In general, the upper parts of the

canopy Canopy may refer to: Plants * Canopy (biology), aboveground portion of plant community or crop (including forests) * Canopy (grape), aboveground portion of grapes Religion and ceremonies * Baldachin or canopy of state, typically placed over an a ...

are dominated by the cauliflower-like crowns of tall dipterocarps with trunks devoid of branches. The middle levels consist of other hardwood trees including

teak Teak (''Tectona grandis'') is a tropical hardwood tree species in the family Lamiaceae. It is a large, deciduous tree that occurs in mixed hardwood forests. ''Tectona grandis'' has small, fragrant white flowers arranged in dense clusters (panic ...

mahogany Mahogany is a straight- grained, reddish-brown timber of three tropical hardwood species of the genus ''Swietenia'', indigenous to the AmericasBridgewater, Samuel (2012). ''A Natural History of Belize: Inside the Maya Forest''. Austin: Universit ...

, ''

Heritiera javanica ''Heritiera javanica'' is a species of tree in the family Malvaceae, subfamily Sterculioideae. Like other species in this subfamily, flowers are unisexual; trees may grows up to 40 m high, and their Vietnamese language, Vietnamese name (under '' ...

'', ''

Tetrameles nudiflora ''Tetrameles'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Tetramelaceae with one species, ''Tetrameles nudiflora''. It grows as a large deciduous tree and is found across southern Asia from India through southeast Asia, Malesia, and into northe ...

'', ''

Ficus ''Ficus'' ( or ) is a genus of about 850 species of woody trees, shrubs, vines, epiphytes and hemiepiphytes in the family (biology), family Moraceae. Collectively known as fig trees or figs, they are native throughout the tropics with a few spe ...

'' and ''

Pterocarpus ''Pterocarpus'' is a pantropical tree genus in the Fabaceae family. It belongs to the subfamily Faboideae, and was recently assigned to the informal monophyletic ''Pterocarpus'' clade within the Dalbergieae. Most species of ''Pterocarpus'' yi ...

''. The

understorey In forestry and ecology, understory (American English), or understorey (Commonwealth English), also known as underbrush or undergrowth, includes plant life growing beneath the forest canopy without penetrating it to any great extent, but above ...

consists of smaller trees, bamboos, shrubs and grasses. Near the streams are bamboo thickets; Laos is rich with species of bamboo, and where timber has been extracted from primary forest, bamboos tend to dominate in the new-growth secondary forest. In wetter, upland regions of northern Laos, ''

Fujian cypress ''Fokienia'' is a genus of conifer tree belonging to the cypress family. In its characteristics, ''Fokienia'' is intermediate between the genera of ''Chamaecyparis'' and ''Calocedrus''. Genetically ''Fokienia'' is much closer to ''Chamaecyparis'' ...

'' is dominant, and supports a dense ground cover of mosses and ferns. There is tropical rainforest in the Annamite Mountains because the rainfall is higher and more evenly distributed throughout the year. The dominant species here are ''

Elaeocarpus ''Elaeocarpus'' is a genus of nearly five hundred species of flowering plants in the family Elaeocarpaceae native to the Western Indian Ocean, Tropical and Subtropical Asia, and the Pacific. Plants in the genus ''Elaeocarpus'' are trees or shrub ...

'', ''

Podocarpus ''Podocarpus'' () is a genus of conifers, the most numerous and widely distributed of the podocarp family, the Podocarpaceae. ''Podocarpus'' species are evergreen shrubs or trees, usually from tall, known to reach at times. The cones have ...

'',

oak An oak is a hardwood tree or shrub in the genus ''Quercus'' of the beech family. They have spirally arranged leaves, often with lobed edges, and a nut called an acorn, borne within a cup. The genus is widely distributed in the Northern Hemisp ...

magnolia ''Magnolia'' is a large genus of about 210 to 340The number of species in the genus ''Magnolia'' depends on the taxonomic view that one takes up. Recent molecular and morphological research shows that former genera ''Talauma'', ''Dugandiodendr ...

camellias ''Camellia'' (pronounced or ) is a genus of flowering plants in the family Theaceae. They are found in tropical and subtropical areas in eastern and southern Asia, from the Himalayas east to Japan and Indonesia. There are more than 220 descri ...

and

laurels ''Laurus nobilis'' is an aromatic evergreen tree or large shrub with green, glabrous (smooth) leaves. It is in the flowering plant family Lauraceae. According to Flora Cretica (Kleinsteuber Books, 2024, ISBN 978-3-9818110-5-6) the stem can be 1 ...

, and many of these are

endemic Endemism is the state of a species being found only in a single defined geographic location, such as an island, state, nation, country or other defined zone; organisms that are indigenous to a place are not endemic to it if they are also foun ...

to this mountain range. In the higher parts of the range there are forests of pine, and the mists that often envelope these

cloud forest A cloud forest, also called a water forest, primas forest, or tropical montane cloud forest, is a generally tropical or subtropical, evergreen, Montane forest, montane, Tropical and subtropical moist broadleaf forests, moist forest characteri ...

s encourage the growth of lush mosses and ferns on the deep leaf litter, and

epiphyte An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant and derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water (in marine environments) or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphyt ...

s on the branches. In the south of the country, there are tropical

pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. ''World Flora Online'' accepts 134 species-rank taxa (119 species and 15 nothospecies) of pines as cu ...

forests, and on the southern plateau are more open deciduous forests with less-dense, middle-level growth and more shrubs, herbs and grasses below. The

bamboo orchid ''Arundina graminifolia'' is a species of orchid and the sole accepted species of the genus ''Arundina''. This Tropics, tropical Asiatic genus extends from Myanmar, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Thailand, Vietnam, the Ryukyu Islands, Malaysia, Singapo ...

grows here, and the

Vietnamese white pine ''Pinus dalatensis'', also known as Vietnamese white pine or Dalat pine, is a species of pine endemic to Indochina. In Vietnam it grows in the mountains of the central and south-central parts of the country at elevations of .Businský, R. (1999). ...

is an uncommon tree that can be seen in the

Nakai–Nam Theun Nakai-Nam Theun National Park in Nakai District, Khammouane Province, Laos, is one of the last remaining wildernesses in Southeast Asia. Nakai-Nam Theun covers approximately 4,270 km2 of the Annamite Range and the adjacent Nakai Plateau in ...

conservation area in central Laos. It is one of about 16 species of conifer present in the country.

Fauna

There are a number of large mammals in Laos, including the

Asian elephant The Asian elephant (''Elephas maximus''), also known as the Asiatic elephant, is the only living ''Elephas'' species. It is the largest living land animal in Asia and the second largest living Elephantidae, elephantid in the world. It is char ...

(''Elephas maximus'') and

Indochinese tiger The Indochinese tiger is a population of the '' Panthera tigris tigris'' subspecies that is native to Southeast Asia. This population occurs in Myanmar and Thailand. In 2011, the population was thought to comprise 342 individuals, including 85 in ...

(''Panthera tigris corbetti''). There are two species of bear, the

sun bear The sun bear (''Helarctos malayanus'') is a bear species in the Family (biology), family Ursidae found in the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. It is the only species in the genus ''Helarctos'' and the smallest bear species, standing nearly ...

(''Helarctos malayanus'') and

Asian black bear The Asian black bear (''Ursus thibetanus''), also known as the Asiatic black bear, moon bear and white-chested bear, is a medium-sized bear species native to Asia that is largely adapted to an arboreal lifestyle. It is distributed from southeast ...

(''Ursus thibetanus''). Smaller carnivorans include the

leopard cat The leopard cat (''Prionailurus bengalensis'') is a Felinae, small wild cat native to continental South Asia, South, Southeast Asia, Southeast, and East Asia. Since 2002 it has been listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List as it is widely di ...

(''Prionailurus bengalensis''),

marbled cat The marbled cat (''Pardofelis marmorata'') is a small Felidae, wild cat native from the eastern Himalayas to Southeast Asia, where it inhabits forests up to an elevation of . As it is present in a large range, it has been listed as Near Threatene ...

(''Pardofelis marmorata'') and

hog badger Hog badgers are three species of mustelid in the genus ''Arctonyx''. They represent one of the two genera in the subfamily Melinae, alongside the true badgers (genus ''Meles''). Taxonomy ''Arctonyx'' was formerly considered a monotypic gen ...

(''Arctonyx collaris''). Ungulates include the

pot-bellied pig Vietnamese Pot-bellied is the exonym for the Lon I () or I pig, an endangered traditional Vietnamese list of pig breeds, breed of small domestic pig. The I is uniformly black and has short legs and a low-hanging belly, from which the name deriv ...

(''Sus scrofa domestica''),

Javan rhinoceros The Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus''), Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros is a critically endangered member of the genus ''Rhinoceros'', of the rhinoceros family Rhinocerotidae, and one of the five remainin ...

(''Rhinoceros sondaicus''),

banteng The banteng (''Bos javanicus''; ), also known as tembadau, is a species of wild Bovinae, bovine found in Southeast Asia. The head-and-body length is between . Wild banteng are typically larger and heavier than their Bali cattle, domesticated ...

(''Bos javanicus''),

kouprey The kouprey (''Bos sauveli''), also known as the forest ox and grey ox, is a possibly extinct species of forest-dwelling wild Bovinae, bovine native to Southeast Asia. It was first scientifically described in 1937. The name ''kouprey'' is derive ...

(''Bos sauveli''),

(''Pseudoryx nghetinhensis''),

Indian muntjac The Northern red muntjac (''Muntiacus vaginalis'') is a species of muntjac. It is found in numerous countries of south-central and southeast Asia. The northern red muntjac inhabits various forest types, from tropical rainforests to deciduous an ...

(''Muntiacus muntjak''),

giant muntjac The giant muntjac (''Muntiacus vuquangensis''), sometimes referred to as the large-antlered muntjac, is a species of muntjac deer. It is the largest muntjac species and was discovered in 1994 in Vũ Quang, Hà Tĩnh Province of Vietnam and in c ...

(''Muntiacus vuquangensis'') and

(''Muntiacus truongsonensis''). There are many

rodent Rodents (from Latin , 'to gnaw') are mammals of the Order (biology), order Rodentia ( ), which are characterized by a single pair of continuously growing incisors in each of the upper and Mandible, lower jaws. About 40% of all mammal specie ...

s, including the ricefield rat (''Rattus argentiventer'') and the recently discovered Pauline's limestone rat (''Saxatilomys paulinae''),

Laotian giant flying squirrel The Laotian giant flying squirrel (''Biswamoyopterus laoensis'') is an arboreal, flying squirrel endemic to Laos. It was the second described member in the genus '' Biswamoyopterus'', after being first collected in September 2012 by scientists re ...

(''Biswamoyopterus laoensis'') and

Laotian rock rat The Laotian rock rat or ''kha-nyou'' (''Laonastes aenigmamus'', Lao: ຂະຍຸ), sometimes called the "rat-squirrel", is a species of rodent found in the Khammouan region of Laos. The species was first described in a 2005 article by Paulina ...

(''Laonastes aenigmamus''), the latter being a

Lazarus taxon In paleontology, a Lazarus taxon (plural ''taxa'') is a taxon that disappears for one or more periods from the fossil record, only to appear again either in later fossil records, or as actual living organisms, and often in isolated, obscure, ...

. The lesser false vampire bat (''Megaderma spasma'') is found in Laos, and endemic species of bat include the Phou Khao Khouay leaf-nosed bat (''Hipposideros khaokhouayensis''). The long-eared gymnure (''Hylomys megalotis'') is another mammal endemic to Laos. Hylobates lar - Kaeng Krachan WB

Primate Primates is an order (biology), order of mammals, which is further divided into the Strepsirrhini, strepsirrhines, which include lemurs, galagos, and Lorisidae, lorisids; and the Haplorhini, haplorhines, which include Tarsiiformes, tarsiers a ...

s present in Laos include the

hatinh langur The Hatinh langur (''Trachypithecus hatinhensis'') is a highly threatened Old World monkey found in limestone forests in Vietnam, primarily in the Quảng Bình Province. They are a primarily black, arboreal, and diurnal monkey.Nadler, T. (2010) ...

(''Trachypithecus hatinhensis''),

silvery lutung The silvery lutung (''Trachypithecus cristatus''), also known as the silvered leaf monkey or the silvery langur, is an Old World monkey. It is arboreal, living in coastal, mangrove, and riverine forests in Sumatra, Borneo, Java, as well as in pa ...

(''Trachypithecus cristatus'') and

red-shanked douc The red-shanked douc (''Pygathrix nemaeus'') is an arboreal and diurnal Old World monkey belonging to the Colobinae subfamily. They are endemic to Laos, Vietnam, and Cambodia. They are known for their bright colors and exhibit sexual dimorphism ...

(''Pygathrix nemaeus''), as well as seven species of

; the lar gibbon (''Hylobates lar''),

pileated gibbon The pileated gibbon (''Hylobates pileatus'') is a primate in the gibbon family, Hylobatidae. The pileated gibbon has sexual dimorphism in fur coloration: males have purely black fur, while females have white-grey colored fur with only the belly ...

(''Hylobates pileatus''),

northern buffed-cheeked gibbon The northern buffed-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus annamensis'') is a newly discovered species of crested gibbon which is found in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos. Its habitat is in the humid subtropical and seasonal tropical forests of these countries. ...

(''Nomascus annamensis''),

black crested gibbon The black crested gibbon (''Nomascus concolor'') is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon found in China, Laos, and northern Vietnam, with four subspecies. Taxonomy The taxonomy of the species is confused. Previously grouped in the gen ...

(''Nomascus concolor''), yellow-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus gabriellae''),

northern white-cheeked gibbon The northern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus leucogenys'') is a Critically Endangered species of gibbon native to South East Asia. It is closely related to the southern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus siki''), with which it was previously co ...

(''Nomascus leucogenys'') and

southern white-cheeked gibbon The southern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus siki'') is a species of gibbon native to Vietnam and Laos. It is closely related to the northern white-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus leucogenys'') and the yellow-cheeked gibbon (''Nomascus gabriellae' ...

(''Nomascus siki''). Snakes present in Laos include the

reticulated python The reticulated python (''Malayopython reticulatus'') is a Pythonidae, python species native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is the world's List of largest snakes, longest snake, and the list of largest snakes, third heaviest snake. I ...

(''Python reticulatus'') and the pit vipers ''

Deinagkistrodon ''Deinagkistrodon'' is a monotypic genus created for the pit viper species, ''Deinagkistrodon acutus'', which is endemic to Southeast Asia. No subspecies are currently recognized. Description ''Deinagkistrodon acutus'' is light brown or greyish ...

'' (''D. acutus''), Chinese mountain pit viper (''Ovophis monticola''), Jerdon's pit viper (''Protobothrops jerdonii''), three-horned scaled pit viper (''Protobothrops sieversorum''),

Chinese green tree viper ''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'' is a species of venomous pit viper endemic to Asia. Two subspecies are currently recognized, including the nominate subspecies described here. Common names for this pit viper include Stejneger's pit viper, Chinese p ...

(''Trimeresurus stejnegeri'') and brown-spotted pit viper (''Protobothrops mucrosquamatus''). Varanus bengalensis - 02

Other reptiles include two monitor lizards, the

Bengal monitor The Bengal monitor (''Varanus bengalensis''), also called the Indian monitor, is a species of monitor lizard distributed widely in the Indian subcontinent, as well as parts of Southeast Asia and West Asia. Description The Bengal monitor can ...

(''Varanus bengalensis'') and

Asian water monitor The Asian water monitor (''Varanus salvator'') is a large Varanidae, varanid lizard native to South Asia, South and Southeast Asia. It is widely considered to be the List of largest extant lizards, second-largest lizard species, after the Komodo ...

(''Varanus salvator''). The

Siamese crocodile The Siamese crocodile (''Crocodylus siamensis'') is a medium-sized freshwater crocodile native to Indonesia (Borneo and possibly Java), Brunei, East Malaysia, Laos, Cambodia, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. The species is critically endangered and ...

(''Crocodylus siamensis'') is found in the rivers and swamps and is critically endangered. The

elongated tortoise The elongated tortoise (''Indotestudo elongata'') is a species of tortoise found in Southeast Asia and parts of South Asia. Description Shell considerably depressed, more than twice as long as deep, with flat vertebral region; anterior and post ...

(''Indotestudo elongata'') is found in Laos, as well as two species of turtle, the

Amboina box turtle The Amboina box turtle or Southeast Asian box turtle (''Cuora amboinensis'') is a species of Asian box turtle widely distributed across Southeast Asia. It is native to the Asian mainland from northeast India, through Bangladesh, Burma and Thail ...

(''Cuora amboinensis'') and

Cantor's giant softshell turtle The Asian giant softshell turtle (''Pelochelys cantorii)'', also known commonly as Cantor's giant softshell turtle and the frog-faced softshell turtle, is a species of freshwater turtle in the family Trionychidae. The species is native to South ...

(''Pelochelys cantorii''). Amphibians are plentiful in Laos, with some only recently being discovered, including many frogs and the Upper Laos caecilian (''Ichthyophis laosensis''), Laos warty newt (''Paramesotriton laoensis'') and Laos knobby newt (''Tylototriton notialis''). The Mekong giant catfish (''Pangasianodon gigas'') is a critically endangered species of fish found in the Mekong River. A number of loaches and guppies are endemic to the country, as are '' Poropuntius bolovenensis'', ''

Tor ater ''Tor ater'', the dark mahseer, is a species of mahseer, a fish, native to Central Laos. Taxonomy Tor ater is slightly different from other mahseer, although possessing many typical Cyprinidae features. This mahseer has relatively small scales, ...

'', '' Acrossocheilus xamensis'', '' Speolabeo musaei'' and '' Troglocyclocheilus khammouanensis''. About 740 species of bird have been recorded in Laos. The only known endemic species is the bare-faced bulbul (''Pycnonotus hualon''). Globally endangered species that occur in the country include the

white-winged duck The white-winged duck or white-winged wood duck (''Asarcornis scutulata'') is a large species of duck, formerly placed in the genus ''Cairina'' with the Muscovy duck (''Cairina moschata'') and allied with the dabbling ducks. However, mtDNA cyto ...

(''Cairina scutulata''),

green peafowl The green peafowl (''Pavo muticus'') is a peafowl species native to the tropical forests of Southeast Asia and Indochina. It is the national bird of Myanmar. Formerly common throughout Southeast Asia, only a few isolated populations survive in ...

(''Pavo muticus''),

greater adjutant The greater adjutant (''Leptoptilos dubius'') is a member of the stork family, Ciconiidae. Its genus includes the lesser adjutant of Asia and the marabou stork of Africa. Once found widely across southern Asia and mainland southeast Asia, t ...

(''Leptoptilos dubius''), white-shouldered ibis (''Pseudibis davisoni''),

giant ibis The giant ibis (''Pseudibis gigantea'') is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is confined to northern Cambodia, with a few birds surviving in extreme southern Laos and a recent sighting in Yok Đôn National Park, Vietnam. I ...

(''Pseudibis gigantea''),

masked finfoot The masked finfoot or Asian finfoot (''Heliopais personatus'') is a highly endangered aquatic bird that was formerly distributed throughout the fresh and brackish wetlands of the eastern Indian subcontinent, Indochina, Malaysia and Indonesia. Lik ...

(''Heliopais personatus''),

Nordmann's greenshank Nordmann's greenshank (''Tringa guttifer'') or the spotted greenshank, is a wader in the large family Scolopacidae, the typical waders. Description The Nordmann's greenshank is a medium-sized sandpiper, at long, with a slightly upturned, bicol ...

(''Tringa guttifer''),

black-bellied tern The black-bellied tern (''Sterna acuticauda'') is a tern found near large rivers in the Indian subcontinent, its range extending from Pakistan, Nepal and India to Myanmar. It has become very scarce in the eastern part of its range and the Intern ...

(''Sterna acuticauda''),

collared laughingthrush The collared laughingthrush (''Trochalopteron yersini'') is a species of bird in the family Leiothrichidae. It is endemic to Vietnam. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist montane forests and subtropical or tropical high-altitude ...

(''Trochalopteron yersini'') and

yellow-breasted bunting The yellow-breasted bunting (''Emberiza aureola'') is a passerine bird in the Emberiza, bunting family (biology), family Emberizidae that is found across the Boreal and East Palearctic. The genus name ''Emberiza'' is from Old High German, Old ...

(''Emberiza aureola''), as well as four species of vulture; the

red-headed vulture The red-headed vulture (''Sarcogyps calvus''), also known as the Asian king vulture, Indian black vulture or Pondicherry vulture, is an Old World vulture mainly found in the Indian subcontinent, with small disjunct populations in some parts of So ...

(''Sarcogyps calvus''),

white-rumped vulture The white-rumped vulture (''Gyps bengalensis'') is an Old World vulture native to South and Southeast Asia. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2000, as the population severely declined. White-rumped vultures di ...

(''Gyps bengalensis''),

Indian vulture The Indian vulture or long-billed vulture (''Gyps indicus'') is a bird of prey native to the Indian subcontinent. It is an Old World vulture belonging to the family of Accipitridae. It is a medium-sized vulture with a small, semi-bald head with li ...

(''Gyps indicus'') and

slender-billed vulture The slender-billed vulture (''Gyps tenuirostris'') is an Old World vulture species native to sub-Himalayan regions and Southeast Asia. It is Critically Endangered since 2002 as the population on the Indian subcontinent has declined rapidly. As o ...

(''Gyps tenuirostris'').

Conservation

Laos ratified The

Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora CITES (shorter acronym for the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, also known as the Washington Convention) is a multilateral treaty to protect endangered plants and animals from the threats of inte ...

in 2004 and this means that theoretically, the wildlife is protected. However, in practice, the treaty is poorly enforced. At markets, particularly near the borders, endangered species can be observed on sale with gibbons being sold as pets to Thailand, and

bushmeat Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are Hunting, hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the worl ...

, trophies (horns) and medicines being sold to Vietnam. Besides this, many birds and animals are hunted for food, so much so that wild birds are scarce in populated areas. A 2020 study of wildlife consumption in northern Laos by San Diego Zoo Global researchers found widespread use of body parts from

s, Asiatic bears, and

serow The serow (, or ), is any of four species of medium-sized goat-like or antelope-like mammals in the genus ''Capricornis''. All four species of serow were, until recently, classified under ''Naemorhedus'', which now only contains the gorals. Exta ...

s, goat-like mammals, among other vulnerable species. The most sought-after items, consumed by about a quarter of those interviewed, were derived from the bile or gallbladder of sun bears and Asiatic bears. Researchers interviewed 100 adults in 18 villages in Luang Prabang Province. Use of bear products in the region had been documented previously, but this study indicates that consumption is greater than previously thought. The second most-consumed items, used by seven percent of respondents, were derived from serows. Products derived from serows and bears are similar in form and use, often being made into topicals or consumables to treat bruises or fight fatigue. All three species are listed at Threatened.

References

External links

{{Asia in topic, Wildlife of Biota of Laos

Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...

Flora of Laos

Geography

Habitat

Flora

Fauna

Conservation

See also

References

External links