To improve husbandry conditions and support successful reproduction, Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens has continuously worked to enhance the animals’ living environment.
Smaller enclosures were combined into a much larger habitat featuring shelters, mud wallows, ponds, and waterfalls. The hog deer were also housed alongside selected ungulates and peafowl, species they may encounter in the wild. At the same time, staff capacity in both animal management and professional husbandry was strengthened, and the herd was divided into smaller groups when necessary to support better genetic management.
The challenge of determining genetic origin
One of the greatest challenges has been the lack of reference material in existing genetic databases for this particular hog deer subspecies. For Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens, accurately identifying the origin of the herd has been essential in determining whether future reintroduction would be suitable under Vietnamese conditions and would not negatively affect the genetic integrity of any remaining wild populations.
In 2025, Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens collaborated with leading institutions, including the Institute of Advanced Technology, the Institute for Resources and Environment, and Save Vietnam’s Wildlife, to carry out a series of complex genetic analyses. This process was not without difficulty, due to differences in analytical methods among institutions and the lack of standard genetic reference sequences for pure Vietnamese hog deer.
In October 2025, after comparing the genetic material of the Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens population with samples from Cambodia, analysis of the cytochrome b and control region (CR) sequences showed that the hog deer currently under the zoo’s care are closely related to the population in Kratie Province, Cambodia, an area adjacent to the Vietnamese border.
A hopeful step toward return
These encouraging results suggest that efforts toward reintroduction, along with careful post-release monitoring, should be actively advanced in order to support the recovery of this species in the wild. The destination may no longer feel far away, but without sustained effort, cooperation, determination, and action, success will still remain out of reach.
We still have hog deer of Vietnamese ecological relevance, but we need the support of the wider community to protect forests and safeguard the environment, the shared home of countless species, so that the journey home for the hog deer may become shorter.
For now, the hog deer continue to receive careful and dedicated care at Saigon Zoo & Botanical Gardens, while waiting for the day they may finally return to their true natural home.
