At a glance
- IUCN category
- CR · Critically Endangered
- Animal group
- Mammals
- Population trend
- Decreasing
- FaunaHub record reviewed
- Checked against IUCN
- Matches source — IUCN's 2020 global assessment of Pseudoryx nghetinhensis says Critically EndangeredChecked 2026-10-09 against IUCN's Red List export published 2026-07-28 · assessment
Conservation overview
The saola is one of the world's rarest and least-known large mammals, a forest-dwelling relative of wild cattle with two long, parallel horns. It is assessed as Critically Endangered.
Discovered by science only in 1992, it is so rarely seen that it is sometimes called the 'Asian unicorn'.
Range & habitat
The Annamite Mountains along the border of Vietnam and Laos.
Major threats
Threats below are drawn from the authoritative sources listed on this page. For the current, complete assessment, see the IUCN Red List.
- Snaring set for other animals
- Hunting
- A very small, elusive population
Why it matters
Found nowhere else on Earth and barely glimpsed since its discovery, the saola is a symbol of how much remains unknown — and how easily a species can vanish before we understand it.
One of the rarest large mammals; rarely seen since its 1992 description.
Sources
Sources for Saola
- IUCN Red List — look up Saola (authoritative status)
- Animal Diversity Web