Rare Asian 'Unicorn' Sighted, Dies in Captivity

[devilfish]

A male Saola, or Vu Quang Forest Ox, was caught towards the end of August.
If this news hasn't been pointed out already, these articles may be of interest:

Rare Asian 'Unicorn' Sighted, Dies in Captivity | Saola Sighted in Loas | LiveScience
BBC News - Rare antelope-like mammal caught in Asia

 

[DavidBrown]

Has anybody here ever been in saola territory?

They do seem like magical animals that should be getting a great deal of attention - I'm sure that their natural remoteness and near-invisibility is why this hasn't happened.

 

[Chlidonias]

Has anybody here ever been in saola territory?

They do seem like magical animals that should be getting a great deal of attention - I'm sure that their natural remoteness and near-invisibility is why this hasn't happened.

I haven't yet but I aim to be, hopefully in 2014. The chances of me seeing Vu Quang ox are remote in the extreme however (indeed I'd rate the chances of the animal even still existing in 2014 aren't particularly great!). Still, it will be fun trying and there's loads of other animals out there. So long as I can avoid the land-mines.

 

[nanoboy]

I haven't yet but I aim to be, hopefully in 2014. The chances of me seeing Vu Quang ox are remote in the extreme however (indeed I'd rate the chances of the animal even still existing in 2014 aren't particularly great!). Still, it will be fun trying and there's loads of other animals out there. So long as I can avoid the land-mines.

What's the rarest animal you've seen in the wild?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I am not sure if and whether they are using intensive camera trapping technology in situ.

 

[Maguari]

Has anybody here ever been in saola territory?

They do seem like magical animals that should be getting a great deal of attention - I'm sure that their natural remoteness and near-invisibility is why this hasn't happened.

I was in Vietnam earlier in the year, but not within the (known) range of the Saola. Didn't stop me looking, of course!

Rarest wild animal we saw (and the rarest I've ever seen by some way) were the Delacour's Langurs at Van Long.

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

Done on an intensive basis might produce more reliable estimates for known populations.

I have only read results from recent surveys that the site where the species was deemed most numerous some years ago it has virtually disappeared alltogether.

Still I do think that in a site of current known distribution the technology could be extremely useful (both for direct population estimations and illegal activities that have led to their extinction elsewhere).

It also seems to me that local awareness on the uniqueness of species and community based management of PA's should be tried more effectively.