DISCOVERING THE SAOLA – ASIA’S UNICORN SUMMARY
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he shy and solitary saola steps silently through the forests of the Annamite Mountains in Vietnam and Laos, evading conservationists keen to learn more about this enigmatic animal. Never before seen by a biologist in the wild, this striking antelope-like animal with its two distinctive spiral horns and prominent white facial markings is sadly on the brink of extinction. Very few animals compare to the saola in their need for urgent conservation intervention. It is possible that just a few dozen may be left in the wild (and certainly no more than 200) making the saola now critically endangered. With no animals kept in captivity, reintroduction would be impossible should it become extinct in the wild. Far more at risk than other Asian mammals such as the tiger, giant panda and orangutan, the saola has received little support in comparison
since its exciting discovery in 1992. Despite its genetic distinctiveness and highly threatened status, two decades have now passed with little effective intervention to protect the species and its habitat. The saola now has little time left and there is a small but rapidly closing window to conserve this beautiful and incredibly significant creature. Threatened as by-catch in poacher’s snares and hunted accidentally by their dogs, the saola has become an indirect target of rampant poaching in the region. Conservationists need to intervene urgently to remove these illegal snares and guard the forest. However, challenged by unruly terrain and the saola’s shy behaviour, and lacking financial input, conservationists are struggling to learn more about the saola’s behaviour to allow effective conservation plans to be implemented. The problem is
further exacerbated as the habitat in which the saola seeks solace is in rapid decline, being lost to economic development and increased agriculture. A coordinated, informed conservation effort is needed, and it is needed now. Can you help the Saola Working Group and its partners learn more about this beautiful animal and make sure it can safely shelter in the Annamite Mountain range? We need to act now, and act together, before the saola is lost forever.
DISCOVERING THE SAOLA – ASIA’S ‘UNICORN’
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he discovery of the Saola in Vietnam’s Vu Quang Nature Reserve in 1992 sparked worldwide excitement. It was the first large mammal to be discovered since 1936, and few believed such a large and distinctive species could go undetected by science until the closing years of the millennium. Saola has been dubbed the ‘Asian unicorn’ for its mystery and elusiveness. It is by far the largest terrestrial animal of undisputed existence in the world that has never been seen in the wild by a biologist (today, we still know Saola only through information from local people, examination of some Saola remains, observations of a few shortlived captives, and a few camera-trap photographs). Since the Saola’s discovery in the Annamites, two new species of deer, a rabbit, several birds and a mammalian family thought to have gone extinct 11 million years ago have also been found in the region. Such pace of discovery of numerous large vertebrates is unsurpassed in any terrestrial area of the world in the past century. In addition, a plethora of highly distinctive Annamite endemics were already known from the area, such as Red-shanked Douc, White-cheeked Crested Gibbon, and the Francois’s leaf monkey species complex. With successful conservation of Saola as a flagship species will come conservation of one of the most extraordinary ecosystems in the world, and the other rare species living there. The issues Saola were already rare when discovered, and their population
has continued to decline. Illegal hunting is the principal threat to Saola. Southeast Asia constitutes the greatest extinction crisis in the world today, driven by the demand for animals for traditional Asian medicine, and for bushmeat. The demand is intensified by newly emerging wealth in the rapidly expanding economies of countries such as China and Vietnam. Paradoxically, Saola seem to be among the few vertebrates in
the region without a high price on its head (since saola does not appear in the traditional Chinese pharmacopeia). However, Saola are just as able to fall victim to wire snares that commercial poachers set in the thousands to catch other animals valued in trade. Efforts to counteract the pressures and conserve Saola are hampered by limited information about the species’ distribution, ecology and behavior.
(top) Saola captured by Lao villagers in 2010; it died several hours after this photo was taken. Photo by the Bolikhamxay Provincial Conservation Unit and Wildlife Conservation Society. (above) Saola calf held in Hanoi, Vietnam for a few months in 1994 (after which it died). Photo by David Hulse/WWF (http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/Saola/ Saola.html)
THE SOLUTIONS
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onservation of Saola requires immediate, focused and sustained action. The Saola Working Group coordinates a program of five essential components, which are described in detail in a strategy document produced by the SWG, Saola Conservation: a portfolio of priority initiatives (2012). In brief, the priorities are:
Additional components of the research program include: design of a Saola telemetry study, to learn more about range size, seasonal movements, etc. participatory village surveys to learn more about Saola distribution and status, and identify avenues to involve villagers more deeply in Saola conservation.
1. Direct projection The most urgent need is to protect remaining Saola from hunting and snaring. The SWG and its member partners such as WWF, the Wildlife Conservation Society and the governments of Laos and Vietnam are collaborating in this by: • supplying enforcement technical advisors to key protected areas; • identifying and establishing new protected areas for Saola; • deploying specially trained and supervised contract rangers at the most important sites (with focus on snare collection); • developing novel incentives to encourage local villagers to protect Saola; • working with relevant authorities to reduce cross-border wildlife trade.
3. Awareness and motivation To conserve Saola, we must not only know what to do, we need key partners – governments, protected area managers, villagers, conservation organizations
and donors – to want to do it. Consequently, raising awareness of the status and conservation priority of this remarkable animal is a key component of the SWG’s work. 4. Mentoring young Lao and Vietnamese conservationists A core of motivated, talented conservationists in the Saola’s range countries is essential for the species’ long-term survival. The SWG is currently focused on funding and mentoring the post-graduate education and research of several promising young biologists in Laos.
2. Innovative research Despite being discovered 20 years ago, we still know little about Saola natural history. This limits our ability to design effective interventions, prioritize areas for protection, and monitor conservation results. The current priority is to develop an efficient, economical way to detect Saola in the wild. The SWG is involved in cutting-edge research to identify Saola DNA from leeches and other vectors, such as dung.
Member of a patrol team with snares removed from a protected area in the Saola’s range in Laos. Photo by William Robichaud.
Lao boy sporting Saola conservation shirt. Photo courtesy of William Robichaud.
We need to act now and act together to save this magnificent species from extinction. Significant funding is needed to achieve the conservation priorities outlined. Recent contributors to Saola conservation have included the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund, Liz Claiborne Art Ortenberg Foundation, Wildlife Conservation Network, Los Angeles Zoo and the Zoologische Gesellschaft für Arten- und Populationsschutz. Can you help us save the Saola by supporting our work? To make individual donations to saola conservation please visit www.savethesaola.org, or contact the Saola Working Group for more information.
About the Saola Working Group The Saola Working Group (SWG) was established in 2006 by the IUCN Species Survival Commission’s Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group, in recognition of the critical status of Saola. The SWG is comprised of more than 20 conservation professionals with broad expertise and deep connections in Laos and Vietnam. The SWG’s Coordinator, William Robichaud, has worked on wildlife conservation in Laos and Vietnam for twenty years. To learn more about Saola conservation and the SWG: email: saolawg@gmail.com Laos phone: +856-20-22004145 US phone: +1-608-444-6483 www.asianwildcattle.org