Dao Tien Endangered Primate Species Centre

Top choice in Cat Tien National Park


Set on an island in the Dong Nai River, this rehabilitation centre with a stellar reputation hosts golden-cheeked gibbons, pygmy lorises (both endemic to Vietnam and Cambodia), black-shanked doucs and silvered langurs that were illegally trafficked. The eventual goal is to release the primates back into the forest. You can view gibbons in a semi-wild environment and hear their incredible calls.

Hundreds of native fruit-tree saplings were planted on the island to provide the primates with foraging territory and encourage them to learn the necessary skills to move around the forest canopy. The centre's current focus is preserving the pygmy loris from extinction. Sadly, several of the rescued animals will never be released into the wild, as hunters tore out their poisonous teeth, without which they can't fend for themselves. The Dao Tien website allows you to sponsor individual primates.

The centre reopened in 2020 with a maximum of 30 visitors a day. Check online.


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