Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

wide-ranging field experience in Indochina was convinced
that buffaloes in the south were truly wild. He mentioned no
sites, perhaps suggesting that they were widespread, and, by
implication, present in Lao PDR. Deuve (1972) recorded wild
buffaloes from Khinak (near Xe Pian NBCA). It seems barely
plausible that wild buffalo never inhabited Lao PDR, but the
possibility that any remain seems low. Small numbers of horns
of large buffaloes are displayed (and available for purchase)
in Lao PDR (Annex 1) and adjacent Thai towns
(Srikosamatara et al. 1992), but the large horns borne by occasional
domestic animals make identification as ‘wild’ solely
on the basis of horn size rash. Wild buffalo horns are used
for traditional medicine (Baird 1995b), but whether these are
preferred over domestic horns was not stated. As the species
may be nationally extinct, it is categorised as Conditionally
At Risk in Lao PDR. Taxonomic issues: If domestic animals
are not distinguished as separate species, Wild Water Buffalo
is known as B. bubalis. The domestic animal to which
this name strictly refers is widespread in Lao PDR.
[• Naemorhedus caudatus Long-tailed Goral (= Chinese
Goral M5 ); (included in N. goral Goral M2 , Nemorhaedus goral
Common Goral M4 , Goral M1 )]. Conservation Significance:
Globally Threatened - Vulnerable; CITES Appendix I. Context:
See below. ‘Goral’ (no scientific name attributed) was
reported from Lao PDR by Cheminaud (1939) but the lack
of records attributed to serow and his descriptive notes of
‘goral’ both suggest that the animal was serow. Fraisse (1955)
recorded ‘goral’ as not rare in Louangphabang and
Khamkheut, but no specimens were procured, the author did
not record serow from Lao PDR, and indeed (p. 155) he was
clearly unfamiliar with the latter. A goral reported by Deuve
(1972) from Boneng (Khammouan Province) was kept in
captivity and, mated with an animal apparently a domestic
billy goat (“un bouc domestique”), bore two kids. It seems
unlikely, given their distant relatedness, that goral and goat
would produce offspring (D. Shackleton in litt. 1998, S.
Lovari in litt. 1999). Although confusion between them might
seem unlikely, S. Lovari (in litt. 1999) was shown a mounted
‘goral’ in Thailand in the 1980s that was in fact a goat. A
1997 photograph (held at WCS, Vientiane) from a menagerie
in Ban Lak (20) originally believed to be that of a goral
in fact shows a serow (S. Lovari in litt. 1999). Among recent
village interview reports suggesting goral from several
NBCAs (Table 12), notable in detail of description are those
from Nam Et and Phou Louey (Davidson 1998). Presence
was considered possible in southern Attapu and in eastern
Xiangkhouang Provinces by Schaller (1997) and Schaller and
Robichaud (1996). Taxonomic issues: In the absence of specimens,
the suggestion that N. caudatus occurs in Lao PDR
(rather than any other goral species) is an assumption based
upon range (Corbet and Hill 1992, Shackleton 1997).
• Naemorhedus sumatraensis (= Capricornis sumatraensis M1,
M2, M3, M4, M7 ) Southern Serow (= Mainland Serow M4, M7 ; =
Large Mammals
Serow M2, M1, M3 ). Conservation Significance: Globally Threatened
- Vulnerable; Potentially At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES
Appendix I. Documented Range and Habitat: North M15 ,
centre M10 , south M14 . Forests on steep terrain, widely on both
limestone and non-calcareous rocks, from lowlands into the
higher montane zone. Status Information: See below. Historical
information is sparse, but Delacour (1940) noted serow
as ‘abundant’ in Xiangkhouang and inhabiting all rocky areas
of north and central Lao PDR. Deuve’s (1972) summary
listed 13 specific areas, south to Nape and Khammouan Limestone
NBCA. Indications (tracks and/or remains) have come
from many survey areas (Table 12), but the only direct sight
records come from Phou Louey NBCA (twice; Davidson
1998) and by a road in Oudomxai Province (R. Jelinek verbally
1999). In 1998, the species was camera-trapped in
Nakai-Nam Theun NBCA and in Nam Theun Extension
NBCA (Robichaud 1998b, 1999). Horns are commonly displayed
in domestic and retail situations in both rural and urban
Lao PDR. Bones, feet, blood, teeth, innards, perhaps almost
all body parts, are widely used in medicine (Martin 1992,
Baird 1993, 1995b). There is cross-border trade in serow parts
from Lao PDR to Thailand (Srikosamatara et al. 1992, Baird
1993, La-Ong et al. 1997), Vietnam (Compton in prep. b)
and China. Villagers in several areas informed RS that serow
is less sought after and less valuable than are other large ungulates,
but trade / trophy levels in body parts are apparently
high. One communal house near Xe Sap NBCA displayed
21 sets of serow horns (Showler et al. 1998a) and there are
various cases where large stocks of internal organs (e.g. over
a dozen stomachs drying over a brazier in Ban Lak (20) in
late 1994) have been stated to be of this species. This suggests
that either exploitation levels have risen recently, and/
or that serow can sustain a high harvest. These two possibilities
have very different repercussions on conservation policy.
Nonetheless, the clear spread of recent reports indicates that
the species should currently only be listed as Potentially At
Risk in Lao PDR. (Plates 1, 5, 16)
Status Information on Goral and/or Serow: Serow/goral were
reported in 91% of 1988-1993 village interviews (n = 328),
distributed throughout the country except the Mekong Plain
(Annex 5). During this work, all trophies observed were
serow, suggesting that most or all reports also referred to
serow.
• Pseudoryx nghetinhensis Saola (= Spindlehorn Bovid; =
Vu Quang Ox M7 ). Conservation Significance: Globally
Threatened - Endangered; At Risk in Lao PDR; CITES Appendix
I. Endemic to Lao PDR and Vietnam, east of the
Mekong (Vu Van Dung et al. 1994, Schaller and Rabinowitz
1995, Timmins in prep.). Documented Range and Habitat:
North and centre (Schaller and Rabinowitz 1995), south (provisionally,
Schaller 1995a). Mainly or solely in wet evergreen
forest of the Annamites and foothills. Status Information: The
discovery and status of Saola in Lao PDR was documented
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