Andrea Mustain LiveScience.com Yahoo News 21 May 12;
This month marks the 20th anniversary of a spectacular day for zoologists. Two decades ago, in May 1992, scientists announced the discovery of a new species — the saola — living in the lush mountain forests that straddle the Vietnam-Laos border.
It was the first large mammal discovered since the 1930s.
Yet celebrations are muted in light of the elusive species' plight; the saola, also known as the "Asian unicorn," is likely fast disappearing, conservationists warned in an announcement today, and they say there could be only 200, or even as few as just several dozen of the animals left on the planet.
The saola is a small, horned animal that resembles a strange antelope hybrid, but is more closely related to a type of wild cow.
Vietnamese scientists first identified the new species only through the bizarre, horned skulls that villagers living near the animal's range had collected.
Stark markings on the face, long, graceful horns and a tufted tail lend to the animal's mystique. [See rare photos of saola.]
But according to Barney Long, an Asian species expert for the conservation organization WWF, the creature got its mythical moniker more for its habits than its looks.
"It's so rare to see that it would almost be like seeing a unicorn," Long told OurAmazingPlanet in 2011, when a protected area for saola was created in Vietnam.
These secretive ungulates wander the steamy green forests of South Asia's Annamite Mountains, where poaching is rampant. Although saola themselves are not prized in the wildlife trade or for their meat, many of their neighbors are.
"Saola are caught largely as bycatch — like the tuna and dolphin scenario," William Robichaud, coordinator of the Saola Working Group, said in a statement.
And although the rare creatures are caught and killed by snares, scientists have never observed them in the wild. The rare saola that has been captured alive has quickly died.
"When they're in captivity, they seem to act extremely tame, and they're very open to having people come up to them and touch them," Long said, but explained that their sweet demeanor is likely a sign of extreme stress. "The animal is freaking out," he said.
Conservationists said it's encouraging that saola are not a direct target for poachers, and offered hope that the critically endangered animals can be saved.
"But we still need to act," Robichaud said. "One of the rarest and most distinctive large animals in the world has been quietly slipping toward extinction through complacency."
Saola still a mystery 20 years after its spectacular debut
WWF 21 May 12;
Two decades after the sensational discovery of a new ungulate species called the saola, this rare animal remains as mysterious and elusive as ever.
WWF, the Saola Working Group (SWG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) warn the species is sliding towards extinction because of intensive hunting pressure and poor reserve management.
A cousin of cattle but recalling an antelope in appearance, the saola was discovered in 1992 by a joint team from Vietnam’s Ministry of Forestry and WWF surveying the forests of Vu Quang, near Vietnam's border with Laos. The team found a skull with unusual long, straight horns in a hunter's home and knew it was something extraordinary. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years and one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries of the 20th century.
Twenty years on, little is still known about the saola’s ecology or behaviour. In 2010, villagers in the central Laos province of Bolikhamxay captured a saola, but the animal died several days later. Prior to that, the last confirmed record of a saola in the wild was in 1999 from camera-trap photos in Bolikhamxay.
“Saola are extremely secretive and very seldom seen,” said Nick Cox, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong’s Species Programme. “While they inhabit a very restricted range, there is still no reported sighting of a saola in the wild by a scientist, and the handful of saola that have been taken into captivity have not survived.”
The difficulty in detecting the animal has prevented scientists from making a precise population estimate. “If things are good, there may be a couple of hundred saola out there,” said William Robichaud, Coordinator of the Saola Working Group. “If things are bad, the population could now be down in the tens.”
Greatest threat comes from illegal hunting
While development is encroaching in the saola’s forest habitat, the greatest threat comes from illegal hunting. Saola are caught in wire snares set by hunters to catch other animals, such as sambar deer, muntjac deer and civets, which are largely destined for the lucrative wildlife trade, driven by traditional medicine demand in China and restaurant and food markets in Vietnam and Laos.
“Paradoxically, the saola seems to be one of the few vertebrates in the Annamites without a high price on its head,” added Robichaud. “Saola are caught largely as bycatch – like the tuna and dolphin scenario.”
Since the discovery of the saola, Vietnam and Laos have established a network of protected areas in the animal’s core range and some reserves are pursuing innovative approaches to tackle rampant poaching. In the Saola Nature Reserve in Vietnam’s Thua Thien Hue Province, a new approach to forest guard co-management, supported by WWF, is delivering good results. Since February 2011, the newly established team of forest guards patrolling the reserve have removed more than 12,500 snares and close to 200 illegal hunting and logging camps.
“The establishment of critical reserves by the governments of Vietnam and Laos is to be commended,” said Dr. Barney Long, Asian species expert for WWF-US. “However, without increasing efforts to adopt new approaches to manage the protection of saola habitat through targeted snare removal, these protected areas will be little more than lines drawn on a map.”
“If hunting levels can be significantly reduced, we are optimistic about the species' prospects,” said Chris Hallam, WCS-Laos’ Conservation Planning Advisor. “This will require funds for more patrol boots on the ground in saola areas, developing positive incentives for its conservation, and ultimately reducing consumer demand for wildlife meat and products.”
Efforts to save the saola have reached a greater level of urgency since another of Vietnam's iconic species, the Vietnamese Javan rhino, was confirmed extinct in 2011 after the battle to save the last individual was lost to poachers.
“The saola has made it to its twentieth anniversary, but it won’t have many more anniversaries unless urgent action is taken,” added Hallam.
An icon for biodiversity in the Annamite mountain range
The saola is an icon for biodiversity in the Annamite mountain range that runs along the border of Vietnam and Laos. This biodiversity hotspot boasts an incredible diversity of rare species, with many found nowhere else on the planet. In addition to the discovery of the saola, two new species of deer, the large-antlered muntjac and the Truong Son muntjac, were uncovered in the Annamite’s rugged, evergreen forests in 1994 and 1997 respectively.
“The lack of significant demand for saola in the wildlife trade gives great hope for its conservation,” said Robichaud. “But we still need to act. One of the rarest and most distinctive large animals in the world has been quietly slipping toward extinction through complacency.”
