With its unusually long horns and white markings on the face, the saola is a strong symbol for biodiversity in Lao and Vietnam. Saola are often caught in snares set in the forest for wild boar, sambar or muntjac deer. Local villagers set some snares for subsistence use and crop protection.
Conservationists are concerned that this is allowing hunters easy access to the once untouched forest of the saola and may reduce genetic diversity in the future. “Only recently discovered, saola are already extremely threatened.
How are saola caught in the wild?
Local villagers report that saola are often caught accidentally in snares set in the forest for wild boar, sambar, or muntjac deer—the snares are set for subsistence use and crop protection.
Well, the saola ( Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) was discovered as skeletal re mains in May of 1992 by surveyors from the Ministry of Forestry of Vietnam and the World Wildlife Fund who were mapping the Vu Quang Nature Reserve of north-central Vietnam. At the time of its discovery, the saola was the first large mammal new to science since the 1940s.
Why is saola important?
Why the Saola is important One reason the Saola is important is because they are prey to animals like tigers and Dholes, and that’s important because if the Saola go, then some of the Saola’s predators might go, starve, or have one less thing to eat. Another reason why they are important: Some people of Laos and Vietnam depend on them for meat.
This video is unavailable. An error occurred while retrieving sharing information. Please try again later. With its unusually long horns and white markings on the face, the saola is a strong symbol for biodiversity in Lao and Vietnam. Saola are often caught in snares set in the forest for wild boar, sambar or muntjac deer.
What is the main threat to the saola?
The main threats to the saola are hunting and fragmentation of its range through habitat loss. Local villagers report that saola are often caught accidentally in snares set in the forest for wild boar, sambar, or muntjac deer—the snares are set for subsistence use and crop protection.