The Saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is a large wild ox whose global
range comprises only the Annamite Mountains of central Vietnam and Lao PDR
(Laos). This unique animal, first described by scientists in 1993, was at one
point thought to be related to goats, but recent research has identified it as
a "primitive" member of the same evolutionary lineage as wild cattle.
Listed as Critically Endangered by the World Conservation Union (IUCN), the 85
kg (200 lb) Saola has yet to be seen in the wild by researchers, and its global
population is currently estimated at 250-300. The primary threat to Saola is
hunting, chiefly from incidental by-catch in snares set for other animals, but
also from professional hunters interested in the animal's horns as decorative
objects. Little is known of the Saola's tracks and signs, distribution,
abundance, habitat use, diet, behavior, and genetics. What information that
does exist comes primarily from indigenous peoples living within its range.
Since its description, the Saola has rapidly become a flagship species for
Vietnamese biodiversity and conservation initiatives.
Global priority conservation landscape for Saola (Quang Nam and Thua
Thien-Hue provinces, central Vietnam).
Photo of Saola taken with a camera trap.
European Commission - Social Forestry and Nature
Conservation
Because so
little is known of the Saola's numbers and natural history, field-based
research efforts are urgently needed to collect data on the species'
distribution and behavior and to develop reliable methods for detecting and
monitoring its presence. Scientists from the CBC are collaborating with World
Wildlife Fund's Greater Mekong Programme and Vietnam's Forest Protection
Department on the first and as yet only initiative researching and implementing
Saola conservation measures. This work is being carried out in the rugged,
mountainous landscape lying along the border of central Vietnam's Quang Nam and
Thua Thien-Hue provinces, an area recognized as the global priority landscape
for Saola conservation.
The project
has identified four core areas within the landscape, each of which has a
relatively high probability that Saola currently live in them. Beginning in
March of 2008 the project will implement an intensive, six-month long
camera-trapping initiative in these high probability Saola areas.
Camera-trapping, the deployment of remotely-triggered flash cameras in areas
difficult to access, has been effective regionally and nationally in detecting
the presence of secretive and rare mammals such as tigers. This is currently
the best technique for determining Saola distribution since there are as yet no
descriptions of tracks, dung, scrapings, or other markings and field signs that
can be unequivocally attributed to Saola. Analyzing tissue samples collected
from trophies will allow researchers to estimate genetic diversity and the
extent of population fragmentation across the landscape.
In addition to camera-trapping initiatives, interviews with local forest
users will be important to gather additional information on Saola occurrence
and possible field signs, as well as information on hunting pressures. Although
not specifically targeted, Saola can be caught and killed by snares set out for
other, smaller animals. To be effective, Saola conservation efforts must
address traditional hunting practices and other forest resource by local people
and incorporate the needs, traditions, and aspirations of their communities,
largely composed of ethnic minorities. These issues will be addressed through
integrating maps of Saola distribution and natural resource harvest patterns
with local forest management traditions to develop sustainable, community-based
forest management.
This project will also benefit other unique organisms that live in the
central Annamites. The Saola is one of a group of poorly known, endemic
ungulates restricted to the Annamite Mountains, including the large-antlered
muntjac (Muntiacus vuquangensis) and the Roosevelts' muntjac species
complex (M. rooseveltorum, M. truongsonensis, and others).
The Annamite Range is the region's dominant geographic upland formation,
running 1,200 km along the Vietnam-Lao border and into southern Vietnam. Peaks
range from 1,000 m up to 2,200 m; evergreen forests cover the wetter eastern
slopes and evergreen and semi-evergreen forests the drier western slopes.
In
addition to these large hoofed mammals, the Annamites support many endemic
primates, birds, amphibians, orchids, and conifers, suggesting that the region
has experienced a unique evolutionary trajectory. In late 2007 two new
protected areas designed specifically to conserve Saola and their habitats were
established in Quang Nam and Thua Thien-Hue provinces. These efforts will help
to conserve not just the Saola but the globally significant plant and animal
communities of which they are a part.
