The IUCN Species Survival Commission has issued a call for immediate action to save Saola from extinction. In a position statement released recently, they emphasize the critical need for greater search efforts for the elusive species.
Since its discovery in 1992, there has been little detection of the animal, which suggests that it is now very rare. However, only 30% of potential Saola habitat in the Annamite Mountains on the border of Vietnam and Laos has been surveyed and as little 2% of that intensively. Experts believe the species still exists in the wild, but with the rising threat from snares, time is running out to find and save them.
“It is clear that search efforts must be significantly ramped up in scale and intensity if we are to save this species from extinction,” Nerissa Chao, director of the IUCN SSC Asian Species Action Partnership says. “For this to happen, there needs to be sustained financial investment in targeted locations.”
Read more: https://www.iucn.org/sites/dev/files/position-statement-saola.pdf
