Call Vietnam mouse-deer ‘cheo cheo’ and let empathy save them from extinction: a conservation review and call for name change

Abstract

The rediscovery of the silver-backed chevrotain (Tragulus versicolor), an endemic species to Vietnam, in 2019 – after almost 30 years of being lost to science – is a remarkable outcome for conservation. Since its rediscovery, there has been significant concern for the conservation of the species due to hunting for wild meat, a practice deeply rooted in Vietnamese culture. Conservation plans face multiple obstacles as the species has not yet been listed as endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature due to the lack of data. Given the limited effectiveness of current conservation measures, we propose that local actions, community cooperation, and empathetic values can help conserve the silver-backed chevrotain through integrating modern technologies (e.g. the Internet, crowdfunding platforms, social media, AI, etc.) with citizen and community science. Communicating conservation information to the community, especially children, must stimulate their thinking and imagination about nature, develop their curiosity and desire to protect wildlife, and eventually build conservation and eco-surplus core values in their mindsets. To successfully awaken human values within the community and incorporate them into conservation endeavours, messages referring to ‘mouse-deer’, ‘chevrotain’, or the scientific name T. versicolor are largely ineffective as they fail to engender feelings of familiarity. Therefore, we suggest calling the mouse-deer ‘cheo cheo’, a local name that can create familiarity and closeness, awaken the environmental conscience, and stimulate thinking and imagination. All these factors encourage conservationists, scientists, and the government to support conservation and the community in building a conservation and eco-surplus culture.