Rare mammal first sighting in years in Vietnam

[Buster's Uncle]

Rare mammal first sighted in Vietnam in years
Associated Press
6 hours ago



This photo taken in 1993 and released by WWF shows a Saola in Vietnam when it was captured. It was one of two Saola captured alive in central Vietnam, but both died months later in captivity. Saola, one of the rarest and most threatened mammals on earth has been caught on camera in Vietnam for the first time in 15 years in September in central Vietnam, renewing hope for the recovery of the species, international conservation group WWF said Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/WWF)



HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — One of the rarest and most threatened mammals on earth has been caught on camera in Vietnam for the first time in 15 years, renewing hope for the recovery of the species, an international conservation group said Wednesday.

The Saola, a long-horned ox, was photographed by a camera in a forest in central Vietnam in September, the WWF said in a statement Wednesday.

"This is a breathtaking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the species," Van Ngoc Thinh, WWF - Vietnam's country director, was quoted as saying.

The animal was discovered in the remote areas of high mountains near the border with Laos in 1992 when a joint team of WWF and Vietnam's forest control agency found a skull with unusual horns in a hunter's home. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years, according to the WWF.

In Vietnam, the last sighting of a Saola in the wild was in 1998, according to Dang Dinh Nguyen, director of the Saola natural reserve in central province of Quang Nam.



This Sept. 7, 2013 photo released by WWF, shows the Saola in a forest in Vietnam. The Saola, a long-horned ox, one of the rarest and most threatened mammals on earth has been caught on camera in Vietnam for the first time in 15 years, renewing hope for the recovery of the species, the international conservation group said, Wednesday, Nov. 13, 2013. (AP Photo/WWF)


In the area where the Saola was photographed, WWF has recruited forest guards from local communities to remove snares and battle illegal hunting, the greatest threat to Saola's survival, the statement said. The snares were set to largely catch other animals, such as deer and civets, which are a delicacy in Vietnam.

Twenty years after its discovery, little is known about Saola and the difficulty in detecting the elusive animal has prevented scientists from making a precise population estimate.

At best, no more than few hundreds, and maybe only a few dozen, survive the remote, dense forests along the border with Laos, WWF said.



Handout photo of a female saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis)


http://news.yahoo.com/rare-mammal-first-sighted-vietnam-years-032619906.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Photo in Vietnam shows mammal unseen for 15 years
Associated Press
4 hours ago



HANOI, Vietnam (AP) — A camera trap in a forest in central Vietnam has managed to snap a photo of one of earth's rarest mammals, the saola, which hadn't been seen in 15 years.

The antelope-like, long-horned ox appears to walk through dense foliage at the edge of the camera's range in the image taken in September. Conservation group WWF released the image along with a statement Wednesday.

"This is a breathtaking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the species," Van Ngoc Thinh, WWF's Vietnam director, was quoted as saying.

The animal was discovered in remote mountains near Laos in 1992 when a joint team of WWF and Vietnam's forest control agency found a skull with unusual horns in a hunter's home. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years, according to the WWF.

Two saola were captured in central Vietnam in 1993 but died in captivity after several months.

The last sighting of a saola in the wild was in 1998, according to Dang Dinh Nguyen, director of a saola nature reserve in Vietnam's central province of Quang Nam.

In the area where the saola was photographed, WWF has recruited forest guards locally to remove snares and battle illegal hunting, the greatest threat to saolas' survival, the statement said. The snares had been set largely to catch other animals, such as deer and civets, which are a delicacy in Vietnam.

Twenty years since they were first known to science, the elusive mammals remain hard to detect and little is known about them.

At best, no more than few hundred, and maybe only a few dozen, live in the remote, dense forests along Vietnam's border with Laos, WWF said.


http://news.yahoo.com/photo-vietnam-shows-mammal-unseen-15-years-094450569.html

[Buster's Uncle]

Rarely Seen 'Asian Unicorn' Caught on Camera
LiveScience.com
By Megan Gannon, News Editor  36 minutes ago



One of the most secretive creatures on Earth — the saola — has been photographed in Vietnam for the first time in 15 years.

Scientists first discovered the saola in 1992 in Vietnam near the country's border with Laos. It was the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years. But since its discovery, the elusive creature has rarely been seen in the wild, earning it the nickname the "Asian unicorn" (even though it has two long horns instead of one).

A lone saola was documented this past September by a camera trap set up in the Central Annamite Mountains by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and Vietnamese wildlife officials.

"When our team first looked at the photos we couldn't believe our eyes," Van Ngoc Thinh, head of the WWF in Vietnam, said in a statement. "Saola are the holy grail for Southeast Asian conservationists so there was a lot of excitement. This is a breath-taking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the species."

Though the beast is more closely related to wild cattle, it resembles an antelope with two sharp horns that can reach up to 4 feet (1.2 meters) in length.

The last time a saola was spotted in the wild was 1999, but it hasn't been seen in Vietnam since 1998. In 2010, villagers in the Laos province of Bolikhamxay caught a saola, but the animal died shortly after capture.

WWF conservationists say they are working with Vietnamese partners to protect saolas from illegal hunting.

"Saola are caught in wire snares set by hunters to catch other animals, such as deer and civets, which are largely destined for the lucrative illegal wildlife trade," Van Ngoc said. He added that 30,000 snares have been removed from the saola habitat since 2011 and more than 600 illegal hunters' camps have been destroyed.

"Confirmation of the presence of the saola in this area is a testament to the dedicated and tireless efforts of these forest guards," Van Ngoc said in a statement.

Scientists suspect that no more than a few hundred or a few dozen saola exist in the wild, but they have not been able to come up with a precise population estimate. The species is listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.


http://news.yahoo.com/rarely-seen-asian-unicorn-caught-camera-171513191.html