Distribution and conservation status of the silver-backed chevrotain Tragulus versicolor in Vietnam

Abstract The silver-backed chevrotain Tragulus versicolor , categorized as Data Deficient on the IUCN Red List, is a poorly known and recently rediscovered ungulate endemic to Vietnam. To better understand its distribution and conservation status, we conducted semi-structured interviews and camera-trap surveys during 2018–2025 across 15 forest sites in five provinces of south-central Vietnam. We deployed 522 cameras at 487 stations, totalling 37,592 camera-trap nights. The silver-backed chevrotain was detected at five sites, including four newly confirmed populations beyond the single previously known population in Nui Chua National Park. The species was found in dry and semi-dry forests, with the highest number of detections in Nui Chua National Park and the Hon Heo peninsula. We failed to record the silver-backed chevrotain in several sites within presumed suitable habitat, and interviews indicated possible local extirpations driven by sustained snaring pressure. Our findings highlight the silver-backed chevrotain’s fragmented distribution, as well as its vulnerability to unsustainable hunting pressure and habitat loss and degradation. Given its limited distribution and the ever-increasing anthropogenic threats, urgent conservation actions are needed, including strengthening in situ protection in remaining strongholds and the establishment of an insurance ex situ population. This study provides the most up-to-date assessment of the status and distribution of the silver-backed chevrotain, and provides a foundation for evidence-based conservation planning for the species.