Google – AFP, Catherine Barton (AFP), 13 November 2013
This
handout picture taken in 1996 and received from WWF on November 13, 2013
shows
a female saola at Lak Xao, in the Lao province of Bolikhamxay (WWF/AFP/File,
William Robichaud)
|
Hanoi — The
critically endangered twin-horned saola has been sighted in Vietnam for the
first time in over a decade, raising hopes of recovery for the mysterious
animal, conservationists said Wednesday.
Known as
the "Asian Unicorn" for its extreme elusiveness, the antelope-like
creature was spotted in September using a camera trap set by WWF and the
communist country's government in Vietnam's central Annamite mountains.
"When
our team first looked at the photos we couldn't believe our eyes. Saola are the
holy grail for South East Asian conservationists so there was a lot of
excitement," said Van Ngoc Thinh, WWF Vietnam?s country director.
"This
is a breathtaking discovery and renews hope for the recovery of the
species," he said in a statement.
Handout
picture taken in 1996 and received from
WWF on November 13, 2013 shows a female
saola at Lak Xao in the Lao province of
Bolikhamxay (WWF/AFP/File, William
Robichaud)
|
Saola,
which were only discovered in 1992, have two parallel horns with sharp ends
that can reach 50 centimetres in length (20 inches).
One of the
secretive creatures was seen in August 2010 -- the first sighting in a decade
-- but it died a few days after it was captured by villagers in Laos, according
to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
It was the
first time a wild saola had been spotted since one was captured on camera in
1999 in Laos.
Dang Dinh
Nguyen, Deputy Head of Quang Nam Forest Protection Department, said the last
sighting of a saola in Vietnam was in 1998.
He said the
latest appearance of the animal was "an historic moment" and showed
that conservation efforts in the critical saola habitat were effective.
Southeast
Asia is a global biodiversity hotspot -- 126 species were newly recorded last
year in the Greater Mekong region, which consists of Thailand, Cambodia,
Myanmar, Vietnam, Laos and the southwestern Chinese province of Yunnan.
Last year
Vietnam was the site of discoveries such as the Beelzebub tube-nosed bat, the
yin-yang frog and new species of fish with a penis on its head.
Phallostethus
cuulong became the newest member of the Phallostethidae family -- small fish
found in Southeast Asian waters that are distinguished primarily by the
positioning of the male sexual organ.
Male
phallostethids have a copulatory organ, termed the priapium, under the throat
for holding or clasping onto females and fertilising their eggs internally,
according to conservationists.
In January
this year, an Australian researcher discovered a new species of flying frog
near the country's southern Ho Chi Minh City and named it after her mother.
Helen's
Flying Frog was first discovered by Jodi Rowley, an amphibian expert from
Sydney's Australian Museum, in 2009 during a field trip to the forests fringing
the city.
But Vietnam
is struggling to preserve its wildlife and in 2012 WWF said the country one of
the worst offenders in failing to tackle trade in endangered species -- an
accusation which the country denies.
In 2011,
conservationists said a critically endangered species of rhinoceros had been
poached to extinction in Vietnam.
The
country's last Javan rhino was found dead in April 2010 with a gunshot wound to
its leg and its horn hacked off.
Conservationists
believe there could be only a few dozen saola surviving in the wild, with
best-case estimates ranging to several hundred.
In the area
where the saola was sighted, the WWF runs a law enforcement programme which
recruits forest guards from the local community to prevent illegal hunting.
Since 2011,
the forest guards have removed 30,000 snares and destroyed more than 600
illegal hunters' camps.
"Confirmation
of the presence of the saola in this area is a testament to the dedicated and
tireless efforts of these forest guards," said Thinh.
When it was
found two decades ago the saola was "the first large mammal new to science
in more than 50 years and one of the most spectacular species discoveries of
the 20th century," WWF said.
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