Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report - IUCN

Wildlife of Lao PDR: 1999 Status Report
by Schaller and Rabinowitz (1995) and Timmins (in prep.).
The species has never been seen in the wild in Lao PDR and
signs are not unambiguously identifiable. There are two camera-trap
photographs from Nam Theun Extension PNBCA
in early 1999 (WGR). The following information is derived
from the examination of remains (some fresh) and local opinion.
Saola is apparently centred around Nakai-Nam Theun
NBCA and Nam Theun Extension PNBCA (Robichaud
1997a). Unsurveyed habitat extends north of the species’s
current known northernmost record (Nam Chouan PNBCA)
into southern Houaphan Province, and the southernmost
record (discounting an old report from Xekong Province) is
from the headwaters of the Xe Bangfai (Robichaud 1997a,
Walston in prep.; WGR). A villager’s report from Phou Xang
He NBCA (Boonratana 1998b) would represent an exceptional
range extension. Recent interview work in the lower
Nam Xan catchment (Bolikhamxai Province) has received
village reports (supported by trophy frontlets) in areas substantially
north-west of the species’s previously understood
range (WGR). Extensive questioning of villagers in and
around Dong Ampham NBCA in 1997 elicited no recognition
of the species (Davidson et al. 1997). A claim from
Xekong Province, (a single interviewee reporting an event
10 years past; Schaller 1995a) was not corroborated by
Bergmans (1995), Schaller and Boonsou (1996), Timmins
and Vongkhamheng (1996a) or Showler et al. (1998a).
Reportedly, about six animals were killed in Bolikhamxai
Province by villagers attempting to capture and hold them in
response to a rumoured US$ 1000 reward for a live Saola.
The party concerned therefore withdrew the offer and apparently
in 1996/1997 some villagers released a Saola on the
explicit instruction of the same party (WGR). The small range
of Saola, a likely need for closed forest, its vulnerability to
hunting (it is easily caught with dogs, which are widely used
in hunting within its range), and the uncertain future of important
forested areas of the central Annamites all place the
species very much At Risk in Lao PDR. (Plates 4, 16)
[• Pseudonovibos spiralis Khting Vor (= Linh-duong M7 )].
Conservation Significance: Globally Threatened - Endangered;
Conditionally At Risk in Lao PDR; Endemic to Cambodia
and Vietnam (Feiler and Nadler 1997a). Context: Current
world range unknown, if indeed it is not already extinct. So far
specimens come only from Cambodia and Vietnam (Peter
and Feiler 1994, Dioli 1995, Feiler and Nadler 1997a and
references therein). In late 1997, a man in Muang Dakchung
(Xekong Province) spoke of a male ungulate (the description
fitting this species) netted and killed in southern Attapu
in 1964. A visit to the area produced no corroboration, as
very few old people remained (Robichaud 1998e). Extensive
questioning in and around Dong Ampham NBCA in 1997
elicited no recognition of the species (Davidson et al. 1997).
The many negative responses from today’s hunters suggest
that the species is extinct in Lao PDR, if indeed it ever oc-
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curred. Taxonomic issues: The position of this species
in the systematic list is arbitrary, pending further analysis of
its relationships with other taxa.
Conservation Management and Research Proposed for
Bovidae:
Kouprey, Wild Water Buffalo and Khting Vor:
• Incorporation of hunting and access controls in the
management of Xe Pian NBCA (the location of the most
recent and persistent reports of Kouprey).
• Continuing compilation of villagers’ reports of Kouprey
and Wild Water Buffalo and implementation of further
surveys (possibly including aerial surveys as proposed
by Cox et al. 1992) centred upon Banteng and other very
large mammals.
• Immediate follow-up of any plausible leads on any of
these species, and rapid protection of any areas found to
hold any one or more of them.
Banteng:
• Field investigation of possible occurrence in north Lao
PDR, notably at Nam Et NBCA.
• Specific activity in Dong Khanthung PNBCA (see under
‘Conservation Management and Research Proposed for
Deer: Eld’s Deer’).
• Focus on Banteng in management aims and activities in
other key areas: Dong Ampham, Xe Pian and Phou Xiang
Thong NBCAs.
Gaur:
• Focus on Gaur in management aims and activities in key
areas (see above).
Goral:
• Continuing compilation of reports of goral.
Serow:
• Clearer understanding of serow status, population dynamics
and current and recent levels of exploitation and its
effects.
Saola:
• Updating of the Conservation Action Plan for Saola in
Lao PDR (Robichaud 1997a) by CPAWM, involving full
participation of provincial and district authorities, protected
area staff and local people’s representatives, stressing
the following objectives:
• Management of a large tract of the Nam Theun basin and
important surroundings for the species.
• Cessation of all snaring and of hunting with dogs in and
adjacent to all NBCAs retaining Saola.
• Prohibition of killing and capture of Saola.
• Development of controls over trophy ownership and
trade.
• Awareness-raising activities for villagers within the species’s
range, both of the above proposals and the reasons
behind them.
• Further surveys to delineate the range and identify areas
supporting large numbers, with specific surveys in (1)