Funding shortages threaten search for critically endangered ‘Asian unicorn’
The ongoing search for the saola, a critically endangered tropical bovid that hasn’t been recorded by scientists since 2013, faces an uncertain future in Laos due to severe funding shortfalls, reports Mongabay’s Jeremy Hance. Scientists first described the saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) in 1992 in the Annamite Mountains that run along the eastern border of Laos […]
The search for the critically endangered saola, often referred to as the "Asian unicorn," is at risk in Laos due to substantial funding deficits, according to Mongabay's Jeremy Hance. First identified in 1992 in the Annamite Mountains, straddling Laos and Vietnam, the saola is the only member of its genus and believed to have remained remarkably unchanged for 15 million years.
However, it hasn't been officially sighted since a camera-trap photograph in 2013, with fewer than 50 individuals thought to exist in the wild, none of which are in captivity. In 2025, the Saola Foundation initiated a search across 300 square kilometers of remote forest in Laos's Bolikhamxay province, utilizing expert local trackers, sniffer dogs, and rapid field DNA testing kits.
However, the saola is susceptible to wire snares set in forests to trap other animals. Currently, the saola search initiative operates on a month-to-month basis. Lorraine Scotson, CEO of the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation, stated that the team typically returns from the forest each July for the wet season. This year, due to a sharp decrease in funding, they could not confirm their return for October.
While emergency donations from zoos managed to secure field operations for October, long-term funding remains uncertain. Conservationists have differing opinions on whether the saola still exists. Barney Long, senior...
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