Endangered Asian 'unicorn' captured, first sighting in decade - dies soon after capture

Scientists have confirmed the first sighting in more than a decade of one of the world's rarest animals -- the saola, sometimes called the Asian "unicorn."

According to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, when villagers in a remote region of Laos became the first people in a decade to spot a saola they were keen to keep the antelope-like creature, which has large white streaks of fur that look like eyebrows.

The villagers took the saola back to their village in Bolikhamxay (see map below) province. Laotian conservation authorities along with the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature sent a team to examine and release the animal. But the adult male saola died shortly after the team reached the remote village. It was photographed while still alive.

"The death of this saola is unfortunate," the Provincial Conservation Unit of Bolikhamxay province said in the IUCN statement. "But at least it confirms an area where it still occurs and the government will immediately move to strengthen conservation efforts there."

The saola looks similar to the antelope of North Africa but is more closely related to wild cattle and is likened to the mythical unicorn because of its rarity.

The species is listed as critically endangered, with just a few hundred thought to exist in the wild. There are none in zoos and almost nothing is known about how to keep them in captivity, meaning if they vanish in the wild they will be extinct.

It has never been seen by conservation experts in the wild and the last confirmed sighting was from automated cameras in 1999.

First discovered in 1992, the saola is considered critically endangered, its numbers so few that biologists have never witnessed one in the wild. Fewer than a few hundred saolas are believed to roam the Annamite Mountains (right) of Laos and Vietnam. There are none in captivity.

The rarity of the saola, which resembles an African antelope but it more closely related genetically to wild cattle, gives it mythical status in some circles, according to the IUCN.

The saola, although it has two horns, may be the basis of the mythical Chinese unicorn, the qilin, although it is unknown if saolas ever existed in China.

The carcass of the saola recovered in the Laotian village was being preserved for study, officials said.

"Study of the carcass can yield some good from this unfortunate incident. Our lack of knowledge of Saola biology is a major constraint to efforts to conserve it," says Dr. Pierre Comizzoli, a veterinarian with the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and a member of the IUCN Saola Working Group.

"This can be a major step forward in understanding this remarkable and mysterious species."

Source:
Cable Network News, "Endangered Asian 'unicorn' captured, first sighting in decade", accessed September 18, 2010
The Guardian, "'Asian unicorn' dies after capture in Laos", accessed September 18, 2010