Saola, a.k.a. the 'Asian Unicorn,' spotted for first time in 14 years
Source: LA Times
By Laura E. Davis
The saola, an antelope-like endangered mammal, has been caught on camera for the first time in the 21st century. The animal, dubbed the “Asian Unicorn” because it is so rarely seen, was photographed in Vietnam’s Central Annamite mountains.
“When our team first looked at the photos we couldn’t believe our eyes,” Dr. Van Ngoc Thinh, the World Wildlife Fund director in Vietnam, said in a statement announcing the photos. “Saola are the holy grail for South-east Asian conservationists so there was a lot of excitement.”
The last reported saola sighting was in 1999 in Laos, and the last time one was spotted in Vietnam was in 1998, the WWF said.
When the saola was discovered in 1992, it was the first large mammal new to science in more than 50 years, according to the WWF. The animal is a cousin of cattle, and it’s made distinct by its two parallel horns with sharp ends that can grow as long as 1½ feet.
FULL story and photos at link.
Read more: http://www.latimes.com/nation/shareitnow/la-sh-saola-asian-unicorn-spotted-first-time-in-14-years-20131113,0,5138384.story#axzz2kZZkh5yR
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LiveScience Staff | September 16, 2010 04:20am ET
One of the rarest animals in the world has been sighted for the first time in more than 10 years, according to the government of Laos. Sightings of the animal, called a saola, are so rare that the creature has been likened to a unicorn, despite the fact that it has two horns, not one.
The Lao government announced that in late August villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay captured a saola, which looks similar to an antelope, and brought it back to their village.
When news of the saola's capture reached Lao authorities, the Bolikhamxay Provincial Agriculture and Forestry Office immediately sent a team, advised by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) to examine the saola and release it. Unfortunately, the animal, an adult male, weakened by the ordeal of several days in captivity, died shortly after. The animal was photographed while still alive.
snip
Asian "unicorn"
This is the first confirmed record of the species since two photographs of wild saola were taken in Laos by automatic camera traps in 1999.
The Saola was first discovered in 1992, in Vietnam near the country's border with Laos. With its long horns and white facial markings, the saola resembles the antelope of North Africa, but is more closely related to wild cattle.
http://www.livescience.com/10090-rare-asian-unicorn-sighted-dies-captivity.html
TYY
and of course, one of the greatest threats is humans and snares.
Thanks for posting!
(which literally means "male-female"
It's lineage is well noted...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Qilin
in China:
and Japan
and a rare sighting in the U.S.
