Vietnam Pheasant returns to the wild are underway after 20 birds were reintroduced from Berlin Zoo to Vietnam in May 2026.
The Vietnam Pheasant (Lophura edwardsi), also known as the Edwards’s pheasant, is known for the male’s deep blue plumage with a metallic sheen and vivid red facial skin. The species is currently listed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as Critically Endangered with the added qualifier “Possibly Extinct in the Wild,” while Vietnam’s own national assessment already lists it as Extinct in the Wild. Its decline over the past decades stemmed from habitat loss, hunting, and the long-term ecological impacts of the Vietnam War.
What kept the species alive was a small population brought to Europe in the early twentieth century, carefully managed across zoos and private breeders for generations. That founder population has now grown large enough to support the species’ return to its home range.
The twenty pheasants selected for this translocation, 10 breeding pairs, were chosen for their genetic diversity, health, and behavioral characteristics to give the new population in Vietnam the strongest possible foundation. Three of the birds came directly from Prague Zoo, which coordinates the European Ex-Situ Programme (EEP) and manages the European studbook for the species. The rest traveled from partner institutions across Europe, including a female born at Bioparc Fuengirola in Spain and offspring hatched at Zoo Heidelberg.
The Vietnam Pheasants made the journey from Germany to Vietnam by cargo aircraft in specially designed transport crates built for safety, ventilation, and minimal stress, accompanied throughout by experienced conservation experts monitoring their well-being. Upon arrival, the pheasants began acclimatization and quarantine at Vinpearl Safari Phú Quốc, after which some will remain there while others move on to a breeding center in Kim Ngân.
Twenty Vietnam Pheasants traveled from Berlin to Vietnam by cargo aircraft before beginning quarantine and acclimatization at Vinpearl Safari Phú Quốc. Photo courtesy of Tierpark Berlin.
“Through careful breeding and long-term genetic planning, we have been able to maintain a healthy and viable population,” said the EEP coordination team. “Contributing individuals to this reintroduction is a significant milestone and an important step towards restoring the species to its natural habitat.” Dr. Andreas Knieriem, Director of Zoo and Tierpark Berlin, called the project “very close to our hearts,” describing it as the result of decades of international cooperation.
The initiative brings together an international alliance of zoological institutions, conservation NGOs, and Vietnamese partners. In Vietnam, the Rare Pheasant Breeding Center, operated by local NGO Viet Nature in partnership with BirdLife International, combines breeding, applied habitat protection, and community engagement. Vinpearl Safari Phú Quốc will serve as a regional center to support the birds during this critical early phase.
Habitat work has been building toward this moment for years. Zoo Berlin notes that partners, including the World Pheasant Association, secured a 30-year lease in 2015 covering roughly 1,900 acres in the Khe Nuoc Trong area, protecting forest that could one day support a returning population. The European Association of Zoos and Aquaria has also supported a breeding center in Le Thuy district, Quang Binh province, with holding aviaries and breeding spaces designed to prepare birds for their eventual return to the wild.
The process ahead will unfold in careful stages. Initial efforts focus on establishing a stable founder population in Vietnam and developing locally adapted management structures, with habitat restoration, reinforcement, and eventual reintroduction to follow as ecological conditions allow. By the organization’s own account, the broader goal is for Vietnam Pheasants to once again inhabit their native forests by the next Year of the Rooster in 2029.
Researchers are also preparing the science needed to support birds once they’re released. Dr. Leah Williams, Lead Conservation Scientist at Chester Zoo, noted that understanding how well reintroduced birds survive in the wild is essential, which is why teams are testing radio-tracking methods to follow released birds without disturbing them.
The Vietnam Pheasant’s survival to this point already represents a remarkable story: a species sustained for decades by a small founder population and international collaboration, now taking its first steps back toward the forests it once called home.
