What is a Saola? | What are the main threats for Saola?

Saola

FACTS

Class                          : Mammalia
Scientific Name         : Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
Location                    : Mountains of Vietnam-Laos border
Colour                       : Brown, Black, Red
Size                           : 150cm-200cm
Weight                      : 80kg-100kg
Diet                           : Herbivore
Prey                          : Leaves, Grasses, Herbs
Predators                  : Humans, Tiger, Crocodile
Life span                  : 8-12 years
Conservation status  : Critically Endangered
Biggest threat           : Habitat loss and hunting


The saola is one of the world’s rarest large mammals on earth. They are mysterious animal that inhabits pristine woodlands. It is the sole species of a genus of bovids, and has been known to science only since 1992. Both males and females have long, slender horns that are up to 52 centimetres in length and slightly curved horns, and white markings above the eyes, like eyebrows. The tail is split into three bands of colour - brown at the top, cream in the middle, and black towards the end, tipped in a fluffy tassel. Its genus name comes from its resemblance to the oryxes –antelopes of Africa and the Arabian Peninsula.
The entire range of the saola lies within a narrow area of forests along the northern and central Annamite mountain range, on the border between Vietnam and the Laos. While most records come from south of the Song Ca River in Vietnam, populations to the north have also been found. The Saola is thought to be a diurnal animal meaning that they are most active during the day-light hours, possibly resting out of sight to protect themselves from predators under the cover of night.

Habitat:
The Saola typically inhabits climatically wet, broadleaf forests, evergreen, usually between 400 to 1,000 meters. Areas of low human disturbance are preferred. The species appears to occupy lowlands during the dry season when the upper mountain streams have dried up and higher elevations during the wet season when upper streams have plenty of water.

Breeding:
The species appears to have a fixed breeding season: in Lao, births take place at the beginning of the rains (between April and June). The Gestation has been estimated at between 7 to 8 months.

What are the main threats?

1. The main threats to the saola are hunting and fragmentation of its range through habitat loss.
2. Snares set in the forest for wild boar, barking deer or sambar, also trap saola. Locals set some snares for subsistence use and crop protection, but recent increases in lowland people hunting to supply the illegal trade in wildlife has led to a massive increase in hunting pressure.
3. In the north of their range, saola are hunted for the horns which have become prized trophies.
4. In the Annamites, rapid and extensive infrastructure development is underway as the government attempts to reduce the high levels of rural poverty.

Saola Conservation Status and Life Today

Today, the Saola is listed by the IUCN as being an animal that is Critically Endangered in it's natural environment. Despite the fact that no formal survey has been conducted, the IUCN estimates that populations could have been as low as 250 when the Saola was first recorded in the summer of 1992, a number that is thought to have dropped significantly since then due to the increased growth of Human settlements.
The Saola Working Group was formed in 2006 in recognition of the need for urgent, coordinated action to save the saola from extinction. Part of the Asian Wild Cattle Specialist Group of the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC), we held our first biennial meeting in 2009. In addition to being the main driver of saola conservation in Laos and Vietnam, the SWG advocates for conservation of the globally significant Annamite Mountains as a whole.
WWF claim that the distinctiveness, rareness, and uniqueness of the Saola, make it one of the greatest priorities to conservation in the Indochina region today. A small 61 square mile reserve has just been set up in the Quang Nam province in central Vietnam, specifically to try and protect the dwindling populations of Saola.

 "Protect the Saola"