By: Suri Zheng
Have you seen this animal before? This animal is called the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis), or Asian Unicorn belonging to the Bovid family. They are an endangered species found at the border of Lao PDR and Vietnam, weighing 80-100 kg and having 2 horns on its head with white spots on its face. This animal is not hard to spot in the wild, but because of its rarity, it was not until 1992 that the animal was discovered. Becoming the first large mammal new to science in the last 50 years. One of the reasons for their endangerment is poaching or hunting, Although they are not the primary targets, they can still be tracked for bushmeat or traditional Asian medicine; a couple of thousand years ago, Saola was not used for medicine in pharmacies but it has become popular leading to the downfall of these poor animals.
The problem of poachers setting up wires has become such a big dilemma that in 2011, the SWG or Saola Working Group partnered with other organizations to protect 5 key places that they believe are crucial to Saolas. Partnering with local villagers the group has removed more than 130,000 wires from these areas! Despite only releasing a few of the wires, it has still made an impact and protected some of the population.
In 2006, scientists estimated that there are only 70 to 700 Saolas in Laos but that number is decreasing rapidly. The number later became less than 100 as Saola’s made it to IUCN red list for endangered species. The animal is so rare that the last time it was caught on camera was in 2013 and since then only villagers have reported seeing them in National parks around Laos and Vietnam.
These Saolas are now distributed into smaller subpopulations, but that may lead to other problems and scientists estimate that the subpopulations will drop to extinction in the next 10 to 15 years. But the good thing is since Saola is not that influential in medicine, or targets for hunting, they may not go extinct very soon.
