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Numbered days: The sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) is unique to Indochina and is thought to be on the edge of extinction. — VNS Photo

HA NOI — The remains of four sao la (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) have been discovered by Birdlife International in Viet Nam, raising fears that the mammal, unique to Indochina, could soon become extinct.

Experts found the animals’ horns in June while on a research mission, in the central province of Quang Binh, for Birdlife International, the Institute of Ecology and Biological Resources (IEBR) and Quang Binh Provincial Forest Protection Department.

Although no detailed zoological studies have been carried out before this, Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts have been suspected to support a number of taxa, due to their location within the Annamese Lowlands Endemic Bird Area (EBA).

And these suspicions turned out to be correct when the survey team found the four sao la horn pairs in the possession of local hunters, two of which belonged to animals hunted in the previous two months.

The sao la has so long only been known to inhabit a few sites in the central mountains, along the Viet Nam-Laos border.

These discoveries from Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts raise the prospects of a previously unknown population, possibly one of the most significant remaining in the world.

Other exciting zoological discoveries made during the survey included a specimen of the recently discovered Annamite striped rabbit (Nesolagus timminsi), found in Le Thuy District, and the horns of a giant muntjac (Megamuntiacus vuquangensis), seen in a hunter’s house in Quang Ninh District.

The survey of bird species in Le Thuy and Quang Ninh districts indicates them to be typical of the Annamese Lowlands EBA.

Three restricted range species were recorded: the Annam partridge (Arbrophila merlini), crested argus (Rheinardia ocellata) and short-tailed scimitar babbler (Jabouilleia danjoui).

Other key species spotted during the survey included the lesser fish-eagle (Ichthyophaga humilis), brown hornbill (Anorrhinus tickelli), red-collared woodpecker (Picus rabieri) and long-tailed broadbill (Psarisomus dalhousiae), all of which are listed in Viet Nam’s Red Book or the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.

The survey qualifies it as an Important Bird Area (IBA), an internationally important site for the conservation of birds.

Unfortunately, sao la and many of the other key species in the area come under intense pressure from hunting.

This pressure is being exacerbated by market forces, a process that is likely to accelerate once the Ho Chi Minh National Highway, which bisects the area, is completed.

Now that the significance of the area has been brought to the notice of the local government and conservation community, it is hoped that immediate action will be forthcoming to protect this exceptional specimen of the lowlands ecosystem. — VNS