Collection of Information

The Saola was only discovered in 1992, in addition sightings of this ‘Asian unicorns’ are rare. Thus, professionals such as scientists and conservationists have limited information on the Saola. It would be useful for people to understand the Saola’s behavior and ecology as these information could enable us to come up with strategies to prevent the population from diminishing. The fact that all but two captive Saola died showed that we do not have the knowledge or appropriate resources to keep them alive while in captivity. As such, more information on the Saola is needed.

Scientists have resorted to collecting leeches in hopes to extract the Saola’s DNA. It was found that leeches could store their victims DNA for up to 4 months. In April 2011 it was reported by WWF that out of the 25 leeches collected, only 4 contained DNA of the Saola. This research is still ongoing in hopes of collecting an extensive amount of DNA to better understand the biology and genetics of the Saola.