Saola conservation
- Thread starter Hix
- Start date
What do the two words mean literally?
bearing in mind I don't speak any Vietnamese languages so I only know what I've read, it means "horns like spinning wheel posts" (the posts in question are the two uprights supporting the apparatus, as seen in this photo of a Thai version: Woman spinning silk by hand on spinning wheel. - Lonely Planet Images). I've never really been able to work out if one of the words means "horn" or if sao la just means "spinning wheel post" and the connection to the horns is implied. (Different websites and articles give different versions, and indeed the original translation given was "spindle horn" which is a bit wrong).
My favourite name for the animal is the Lao one saht-supahp which apparently means "the polite animal"
Saola
In the video it hints at in-situ and ex-situ conservation, so maybe there will be further attempts at captive breeding if they can catch any. It may not be that difficult to keep in captivity if its needs were properly met and capture was made as stress-free as possible. The few(?)animals which have been caught and promptly died may not have been captured or kept under suitable conditions .
Does anyone else find the phrase'going extinct' irksome?- I always thought animals became extinct (they certainly did until about 1980 anyway..
)
In the video it hints at in-situ and ex-situ conservation, so maybe there will be further attempts at captive breeding if they can catch any. It may not be that difficult to keep in captivity if its needs were properly met and capture was made as stress-free as possible. The few(?)animals which have been caught and promptly died may not have been captured or kept under suitable conditions .
Does anyone else find the phrase'going extinct' irksome?- I always thought animals became extinct (they certainly did until about 1980 anyway..
)The latter underlines more the pushing up daisies bit I guess.
But yes, you are right.
As to in situ or ex situ breeding, the best thing for the saola would be for locals to stop any hunting. What happens when they are accidentally caught ... they get to be in a right state before even one of the science buffs is on site. We need to be actually there ALL the TIME to conserve them and then conservation breeding ex situ would make sense.
Allthough, the usual space for saola keeping they refer to as enclosures in Vietnam really is undeserving of even the least form of animal welfare. Hopefully, a captive-breeding center on site with good facilities along the lines of Cuc Phuong and some others may be established for this iconic forest species and others in Vu Quang and arounds.
But yes, you are right.
As to in situ or ex situ breeding, the best thing for the saola would be for locals to stop any hunting. What happens when they are accidentally caught ... they get to be in a right state before even one of the science buffs is on site. We need to be actually there ALL the TIME to conserve them and then conservation breeding ex situ would make sense.
Allthough, the usual space for saola keeping they refer to as enclosures in Vietnam really is undeserving of even the least form of animal welfare. Hopefully, a captive-breeding center on site with good facilities along the lines of Cuc Phuong and some others may be established for this iconic forest species and others in Vu Quang and arounds.
Some exciting news from Vietnam:
Rediscovery of Saola: ?Asian Unicorn? Sighted in Vietnam after 15 years | Press Releases | WWF
Rediscovery of Saola: ?Asian Unicorn? Sighted in Vietnam after 15 years | Press Releases | WWF
Here's an additional story on the new photo of the saola in Vietnam: Asia's 'unicorn' photographed in Vietnam
Serious plans to start a breeding-programm :
Saola Update, July 2014: Next major step, lives well lived, and books about unicorns.
Saola Update, July 2014: Next major step, lives well lived, and books about unicorns.
Pretty sure that even if he does see one he wouldn't be "the first Western scientist" to do so.
He is a couple decades too late for that. William Robichaud of the Saola Working Group has seen at least one. I saw him give a talk about it.
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Two podcasts with conservationists working with this species that may be of further interest :
Episode 51: The Asian Unicorn, the Saola - All Creatures Podcast
Also , highly reccomend William Debuys book "The Last Unicorn: A search for one of the worlds rarest creatures". It is very well written and contains a lot of the background of the "discovery" of the species and its conservation status.
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Unicorn...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1573688138&sr=8-3
Episode 51: The Asian Unicorn, the Saola - All Creatures Podcast
Also , highly reccomend William Debuys book "The Last Unicorn: A search for one of the worlds rarest creatures". It is very well written and contains a lot of the background of the "discovery" of the species and its conservation status.
https://www.amazon.com/Last-Unicorn...swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1573688138&sr=8-3
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Nature reserve for the Saola in Vietnam :
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-home-...cx4Z3pLbjDbJImIpCVLV_OvojP8cg0KjTAtIRloCAqgKM
https://phys.org/news/2020-09-home-...cx4Z3pLbjDbJImIpCVLV_OvojP8cg0KjTAtIRloCAqgKM
Just for those who were interested, he hiked to this isolated piece of land and found a hoof print of some kind. Not really evidence of any sort but I guess it gets him views...
Onychorhynchus coronatus
Well-Known Member
Hmmmm sorry if this sounds cynical to anyone but I agree that it sounds far more like wishful thinking and the need to generate tv views than any credible evidence.
That said I certainly hope that the saola is still out there even if I do often wonder whether it is too late to actually save this species.
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Searching for the Saola :
Scientists step up hunt for ‘Asian unicorn’, one of world’s rarest animals
Scientists step up hunt for ‘Asian unicorn’, one of world’s rarest animals
SeaOtterHQ
Well-Known Member
Analysis of the saola genome indicates that the species could probably be saved through a captive breeding program with as few as 12 individuals.
Unfortunately, as everyone here already knows, even obtaining 12 saolas would be a small miracle, and it's not clear that their husbandry would be straightforward since it's not a species that was ever widely held in captivity...
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"Right now, the existence of live saolas can neither be proven nor disproven. The last evidence we have was from 2013, when one was captured on a camera trap. But given the remoteness of its habitat, it is extremely difficult to say for sure whether there are still a few out there. There are some signs and indications that still give us hope," says Nguyen Quoc Dung from the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute in Vietnam.
He is one of the authors of a new international study, in which researchers from Denmark, Vietnam and many other countries have mapped the saola's genome for the first time ever. Up until now, almost no genetic data on the saola have been generated. The study is published in the journal Cell.
By analyzing fragments from saola remains collected from hunters' households, the researchers generated complete genomes for 26 saolas. This has provided brand new insights into the history of the enigmatic bovine—and its future prospects.
"We were quite surprised to find that the saola is split into two populations with considerable genetic differences. The split happened between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago. That was completely unknown before, and there was also no way we could have known without genetic data. It is an important result because it affects how the genetic variation in the species is distributed," says lead author Genís Garcia Erill, a former Ph.D. student at the Department of Biology.
"This means that the genetic variation lost in each population complements the other. So, if you mix them, they could compensate for what the other is missing," says Garcia Erill.
And that could potentially be the solution to saving the saola from extinction. The researchers have calculated the probability of the species surviving under various conservation scenarios.
Their models show that the best survival chances occur if the two populations are mixed in a captive breeding program.
"If we can bring together at least a dozen saolas—ideally a mix from both populations—to form the foundation of a future population, our models show the species would have a decent chance of long-term survival. But it hinges on actually locating some individuals and starting a breeding program. That has worked before when species were on the brink of extinction," says Rasmus Heller, senior author of the study and Associate Professor from the Department of Biology at UCPH.
The genetic mapping opens up new possibilities for using various technologies to locate the last remaining saolas.
"Many researchers have unsuccessfully tried to find traces of saola through methods like environmental DNA in water and even in leeches, the blood suckers inhabiting the same habitat. These techniques all rely on detecting tiny DNA fragments, and now that we know the complete saola genome, we have a much larger toolkit for detecting those fragments," says Minh Duc Le, co-author on the study from Vietnam National University.
Saving the Asian unicorn—if it still exists: Saola genome mapped for first time
Unfortunately, as everyone here already knows, even obtaining 12 saolas would be a small miracle, and it's not clear that their husbandry would be straightforward since it's not a species that was ever widely held in captivity...
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Right now, the existence of live saolas can neither be proven nor disproven. The last evidence we have was from 2013, when one was captured on a camera trap. But given the remoteness of its habitat, it is extremely difficult to say for sure whether there are still a few out there. There are some signs and indications that still give us hope," says Nguyen Quoc Dung from the Forest Inventory and Planning Institute in Vietnam.
He is one of the authors of a new international study, in which researchers from Denmark, Vietnam and many other countries have mapped the saola's genome for the first time ever. Up until now, almost no genetic data on the saola have been generated. The study is published in the journal Cell.
By analyzing fragments from saola remains collected from hunters' households, the researchers generated complete genomes for 26 saolas. This has provided brand new insights into the history of the enigmatic bovine—and its future prospects.
"We were quite surprised to find that the saola is split into two populations with considerable genetic differences. The split happened between 5,000 and 20,000 years ago. That was completely unknown before, and there was also no way we could have known without genetic data. It is an important result because it affects how the genetic variation in the species is distributed," says lead author Genís Garcia Erill, a former Ph.D. student at the Department of Biology.
"This means that the genetic variation lost in each population complements the other. So, if you mix them, they could compensate for what the other is missing," says Garcia Erill.
And that could potentially be the solution to saving the saola from extinction. The researchers have calculated the probability of the species surviving under various conservation scenarios.
Their models show that the best survival chances occur if the two populations are mixed in a captive breeding program.
"If we can bring together at least a dozen saolas—ideally a mix from both populations—to form the foundation of a future population, our models show the species would have a decent chance of long-term survival. But it hinges on actually locating some individuals and starting a breeding program. That has worked before when species were on the brink of extinction," says Rasmus Heller, senior author of the study and Associate Professor from the Department of Biology at UCPH.
The genetic mapping opens up new possibilities for using various technologies to locate the last remaining saolas.
"Many researchers have unsuccessfully tried to find traces of saola through methods like environmental DNA in water and even in leeches, the blood suckers inhabiting the same habitat. These techniques all rely on detecting tiny DNA fragments, and now that we know the complete saola genome, we have a much larger toolkit for detecting those fragments," says Minh Duc Le, co-author on the study from Vietnam National University.
Saving the Asian unicorn—if it still exists: Saola genome mapped for first time
The_Leopard_Seal
Well-Known Member
While we are on the topic of critically endangered ungulates from Southeast Asia, I wonder how the giant muntjac is doing?