Scientists from the WWF say that the animal, also known as the Vu Quang ox or the Asian unicorn, is often caught in wire snares that hunters set to catch other animals like sambar deer and civets which are targeted by the demand of traditional medicine in China and food markets in Vietnam and Laos.
The creature's forest habitat is also being encroached upon by human development.
Vietnam and Laos have established a network of protected areas in the saola's core range and some reserves are pursuing innovative approaches to tackle rampant poaching.
“However, without increasing efforts to adopt new approaches to manage the protection of saola habitat through targeted snare removal, these protected areas will be little more than lines drawn on a map,” said Dr. Barney Long, Asian species expert for WWF-US.
Meanwhile, Chris Hallam, WCS-Laos’ Conservation Planning Advisor, called for additional funding to step up patrols in the saola’s habitat, develop positive incentives for its conservation and reduce consumer demand for wildlife meat and products.
However, since then scientists have had few opportunities to study the saola's ecology or behavior, because it is “extremely secretive and very seldom seen.
In 2010, villagers in the central Lao province of Bolikhamxay captured a saola, but the animal died several days later. Prior to that, the last confirmed record of a saola in the wild came from camera-trap photos taken in Bolikhamxay in 1999.