What it is
The saola is a dark forest bovid with long, almost parallel horns, the only species in its genus. It is not an antelope and not a unicorn. IUCN lists it as Critically Endangered. There is no census. The IUCN SSC Saola Working Group has said realistic guesses fall below 100, and some specialists think the true number is far lower or already zero. Exact numbers are unknown.
Range
Wet evergreen forest in the Annamite Mountains of Vietnam and Laos. It has never been confirmed in Cambodia.
What happened
Western science named the species from hunter trophies in 1992-93. A few animals died quickly in captivity; a 2013 camera-trap frame is the last widely accepted wild photograph. The main killer is indiscriminate snaring for other trade species, not a market that wants saola itself. Search teams in 2024-25 have not published a new confirmed detection.
When / status
Critically Endangered now. Last confirmed wild photograph: 2013.
Human role
Industrial snaring of Annamite forests: bycatch of a species people barely knew existed.
Sources
IUCN Red List (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, CR); IUCN SSC Saola Working Group position statement, 2021.