Saving the Asian ‘unicorn’ – if there is still a

Researchers have been looking for this since then, but so far to no avail. The task is even more difficult to make the fact that SAOL lives only in the remote, rough forests of Mount Annamit in Vietnam and Laos.

“At this point, the existence of living statements cannot be proven or challenged. The last evidence we had from 2013, when one was captured in the trap of the camera. But given the distance of his habitat, it is extremely difficult to say if there are several more signs and indications that they still give hope,” says Nguyn Dung from the Forest.

He is one of the authors of the new international study, in which researchers from Denmark, Vietnam and many other countries have first copied the Genoa Sao Gen. Until now, they have almost not generated information about the SAOL. The study was published in a scientific journal Cell.

The analysis of the fragments from the SAO remains collected from hunter households, researchers have created complete genomes for 26 SAOL. This has given all new insights into the history of enigmatic cattle – and his future prospects.

How can it survive

“We were quite surprised to find that SAOL was divided into two populations with significant genetic differences. The cleft occurred between 5,000 and 20,000 years. This was completely unknown before, and there was also no way to know without genetic data. This is an important result, because it affects how genetic variation in distribuing is,” she says.

Genetic analyzes also show that both populations have been declining since the last ice age. According to the researcher’s estimates, the total population of the SULA has never exceeded 5000 individuals in the last 10,000 years. And this long -term fall means that both populations have started to lose genetic diversity. But crucial, they did not lose the same genetic diversity.

“This means that a genetic variation lost in each population complements another. So, if you mix them, they could make up for what others miss,” Genís Garcia Erill says.

And that could potentially be a solution to rescue the statement from extinction. Researchers have calculated the likelihood that species will survive in different preservation scenarios. Their models show that the best chances of survival are happening if the two populations mixed in the farming program in captivity.

“If we can gather at least a dozen Saola-in-the-case mix of both populations-as we would form the foundation of the future population, our models show that species would have a decent chance for a long-term survival. But it depends on actually locating some individuals and launching farming programs. It worked before the species were on exterminating and growth, says Rasmus.

But is there still?

Finding 12 Saolas, however, is not a simple task. But new research could help solve this problem. Genetic mapping opens up new opportunities to use different technologies to find the last remaining Saolas.

“Many researchers unsuccessfully tried to find traces of SULA methods such as DNA environment in water, even in leeches, blood boobs that inhabit the same habitat. All these techniques rely on the detection of the tiny DNA fragments, and now that we know that the complete Genu Saola is at the University, min, detecting them.”

But even if it turns out that Saola has been extinct, new research findings can be useful: “Our results in theory could be used if we ever managed to bring back a statement through genetic de-assembling technologies, which is currently a hot topic. In that case, our new insight into the genetic variation would make a huge difference in creation.

Still, there is a suspicion of the chances of finding a living Saolas.

“Scientists have been looking for Saolas since the 1990s, and since then it has been becoming more and more difficult, because there were more of them then. I am not overly optimistic, I have to admit – but I really hope she still said outside,” Rasmus Heller concludes.

About Saola

• Saola (Pseudoryx ghetinhensis) Science discovered in 1992, which makes it a recently discovered large mammal. The second latest recent was Kouprey, discovered in 1937.
• Danish and Vietnamese biologists work together to study the secret Sales from the very beginning – starting with the scientific description of SAO in the early 1990s.
• According to IUCN, there are probably less than 100 individuals left, which she did to one of the most vulnerable mammals in the world.
• The evolutionary unique-session on the branch of the tree of life of 12-15 million years and is the only survivor’s descendant on that branch.

About the study

• An international team of researchers from many countries and institutions has contributed to the study, which was published in the journal Cell [DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2025.03.040]
• The study was supported by the Vietnamese Ministry of Science and Technology, the European Council for Research, the Carlsberg Foundation and the Denmark Independent Research Fund, among other sources.