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Saola Still A Mystery 20 Years After Its Spectacular Debut

By Marianne de Nazareth

20 May, 2012
Countercurrents.org

When the first pictures were shown of the Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) on the news channels, we thought, gosh what a strange looking animal. It looks like a cross between and antelope and a goat. Apparently the existence of the animal surfaced two decades ago and till today, this rare animal remains as mysterious and elusive as ever. The Saola Working Group (SWG) of the IUCN Species Survival Commission, WWF and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) warn that the species is sliding towards extinction because of intensive hunting pressure and poor reserve management.

A cousin of cattle but resembling an antelope in appearance, the Saola was discovered in 1992 by a joint team from Vietnam 's Ministry of Forestry and WWF surveying the forests of Vu Quang, near Vietnam 's border with Laos . The team found a skull with unusual long, straight horns in a hunter's home and knew it was something extraordinary. The find proved to be the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years, and one of the most spectacular zoological discoveries of the 20th century.

The Saola are shy,solitary, ungulates (animal with hooves) endemic to the forests of the Annamite Mountains of Laos and Vietnam . Since the species' discovery, it has declined to a status of Critically Endangered (2010IUCNRedList), due mainly to intense hunting in its range.

Reading the paper “ Physical and Behavioral description of a captive Saola, (Pseusoryx Nghetinhensis)” written by William G. Robichaud, Coordinator of the IUCN Saola Working Group, a lot of first hand insights about the Saola were revealed.

He explained that due to the Saola's elusiveness and the lack of investment in its conservation, precise population estimates are not yet possible. “The best we can say is that probably no more than a few hundred survive. Saola is now one of the most endangered mammals in Asia , akin only to the two South east Asian rhinoceroses. The Saola's home is one of the most remarkable and important ecosystems in the world and since the Saola's discovery there, at least two new species of deer(muntjacs), a rabbit, several birds and an entirely new mammalian family have been found in the Annamites. This is in addition to the plethora of highly distinctive endemics already known from the area, such as Douc Langur, the Francois's Langur species complex and White-cheeked Gibbon,” he said.

Robichaud has expalined that with successful conservation of Saola, as a flagship species, will come conservation of the Annamites, and the thousands of other species there. The difficulty in detecting the animal has prevented scientists from making a precise population estimate.

Twenty years later, little is still known about the Saola's ecology or behaviour. In 2010, villagers in the central Laos province of Bolikhamxay captured a Saola, but the animal died several days later. Prior to that, the last confirmed record of a Saola in the wild was in 1999 from camera-trap photos in Bolikhamxay.

“Saola are extremely secretive and very seldom seen,” said Nick Cox, Manager of WWF-Greater Mekong's Species Programme. “While they inhabit a very restricted range, there is still no reported sighting of a saola in the wild by a scientist, and the handful of saola that have been taken into captivity have not survived.”

Robichaud goes on to say that, “While development is encroaching on the Saola's forest habitat, the greatest threat comes from illegal hunting. Saola are caught in wire snares set by hunters to catch other animals, such as Sambar Deer (Rusa unicolor), Muntjac Deer (Muntiacus reevesi) and civets, which are largely destined for the lucrative wildlife trade driven by traditional medicine demand in China and restaurant and food markets in Vietnam and Laos. Since the discovery of the Saola, Vietnam and Laos have established a network of protected areas in the animal's core range and some reserves are pursuing innovative approaches to tackle rampant poaching. In the Saola Nature Reserve in Vietnam 's Thua Thien Hue Province , a new approach to forest guard co-management is delivering positive results. Since February 2011, the team of forest guards patrolling the reserve, have removed more than 12,500 snares and close to 200 illegal hunting and logging camps.

Interestingly the paper says that little has been learned about the ecology and behavior of the saola since its discovery from horns in hunter's houses in Viet Nam in 1992. Although known to be a bovid,it shares characteristics with the Nilgai (Boselaphus tragocamelus). The saola also has exhibited remarkably tame behavior among humans, but intense stereotyped reactions toward domestic dogs. In January 1996, a pregnant female was captured in central Laos and placed in a nearby menagerie. This was the first adult saola seen by the outside world and provided an opportunity to gather basic information about the species.

The animal survived 18 days, during which time notes were made of her morphology and behaviour. The hair on the upper parts of the female was straight and the coat was soft and rather thin. The tail was tricolored and split evenly into three horizontal bands of, from base to tip, the same medium brown of the upper body, cream, and black. The most striking aspect of the captive Saola's behavior was her tameness in the presence of humans. Within a day of arriving at the menagerie (3 days after her capture), she seemed to ignore humans who entered her cage and calmly accepted food from the hand. Within 2-3 days, she could be touched and stroked without apparent reaction. The saola's tameness contrasted with the skittish behavior and fear of humans shown by the neighbouring animals in the menagerie, even though these had been in the zoo for one year.

Talking to the local people familiar with the Saola, researcher Robichaud found that the tame behavior of the captive female may be typical of the species. One local told him that saola are known locally as the "polite animal" because "they always step slowly and quietly through the forest" and are not obstinate or excitable. Another stated, "The only thing saola are afraid of is dogs."

The captive Saola was provided daily three species of leafy plants to eat, provisionally identified as Homalomena (Family: Araceae), Asplenium (Family: Aspleniaceae), and a species of broad-leaved shrub or tree possibly in the family Sterculiaceae (P. Phaengsintham, National University of Laos, pers. comm.). Those plants reportedly form part of the species' diet in the wild. The Saola ate all three but showed some preference for the one of the leaves over the others.

Today says Robichaud, the Saola is an icon for biodiversity in the Annamite mountain range that runs along the border of Vietnam and Laos . This biodiversity hotspot boasts an incredible diversity of rare species, with many found nowhere else on the planet. In addition to the discovery of the Saola, two new species of deer, the Large-antlered Muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) and the Truong Son Muntjac (Muntiacus truongsonensis), were uncovered in the Annamite's rugged, evergreen forests in 1994 and 1997 respectively. Efforts to save the Saola have reached a greater level of urgency since another of Vietnam 's iconic species, the Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus), was confirmed extinct in 2011 after the battle to save the last individual was lost to poachers.

“If hunting levels can be significantly reduced, we are optimistic about the species' prospects,” says Chris Hallam, WCS-Laos' Conservation Planning Advisor. “This will require funds for more patrol boots on the ground in Saola areas, developing positive incentives for its conservation, and ultimately reducing consumer demand for wildlife meat and products. The Saola has made it to its twentieth anniversary, but it won't have many more anniversaries unless urgent action is taken.”

Scientists have realised that basic ecological studies to deter mine the species' requirements should probably precede any further attempts at live capture. Following the death of the two juvenile Saola in Hanoi , Viet Nam 's Ministry of Forestry issued a ban on further capture, trade, or holding of Saola and or- dered that no financial compensation be paid to anyone found in possession of a Saola. Such initiatives should be sustained and supported, until more is learned about basic dietary and other requirements of this rare animal.

(The writer is a registered PhD scholar and adjunct faculty, St. Joseph 's College, Bangalore )




 


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