Biologists are on the hunt for this very rare animal to start a captive breeding program and save it from extinction
He is about to end up run over, his mother saves himBiologists are on the hunt for this very rare animal to start a captive breeding program and save it from extinction
The saola (scientific name Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is one of the rarest and most elusive animals in the world. Also called asian unicorn, it is actually a rare species of deer characterized by long straight horns and white spots on the face, as well as by an imposing size that is around 100 kg in weight. The species was only discovered in 1992 - this makes the Asian unicorn the first large mammal discovered in recent history. But why is it so difficult to spot this animal? It is a practically impossible species to capture: no biologist has ever managed to trap a specimen, while animals kept in captivity by local communities died within a few weeks, probably due to a wrong diet. The discovery of the species to which we referred, in fact, was based on the discovery of skulls and horns of already dead specimens, exhibited as trophies by the leaders of some communities in northern Vietnam.
The news of the new species was welcomed with joy in the scientific community as one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries of the twentieth century - even if it is believed that in the last thirty years the population of the saola has drastically decreased due to uncontrolled poaching: the animal, in fact, is hunted for both its meat and its long horns, used as an ingredient in traditional Asian medicine. Poaching operations seem to have intensified in recent years despite the establishment of nature reserves and a more widespread patrolling of the habitat of this animal: hunters disseminate hundreds of thousands of traps in the forest, and mammals have no escape.
In fact, already in 2006 the species was included by the IUCN as at risk of extinction: it is currently estimated a population of less than 100 individuals worldwide. In the same year some biologists founded the Saola Working Group (SWG), an association that aims to find the last remaining specimens of the species to insert them in a captive breeding program and thus save the species from the tragic fate of extinction. : the association gathers the forces of various animal defense bodies to collect information on the species and try to capture specimens.
The area where the saola lives (@ savethesaola.org)
But the animal continues to escape: despite the presence of photo-traps in a large natural area where the saola is thought to live, the last time an animal of the species was photographed was in 2013 - inside the Saola Nature Reserve, in central Vietnam. This is because the photo-trap technology does not allow the detection of individual animals running within a large area of dense vegetation. New techniques are currently being studied for detecting the presence of saola in nature, such as dogs trained to smell the smell and the traces of the animal.
We are in a moment of conservation history - he says Robichaud, president of the Saola Foundation. - We know how to find and save this magnificent animal, which has been on planet Earth for perhaps 8 million years. We just need the world to come together and support the effort. It will not cost much and the reward, for the saola people, for biodiversity and also for ourselves, will be enormous.
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Fonti: The Guardian / Save The Saola
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