Saving one of the Earth's Rarest Species: Saola

This is the story of a fascinating animal you probably never heard of, and how you can save it from disappearing forever. That's me, Rob. I'm a filmmaker and nature enthusiast. But nowadays, when I browse the internet, it's no surprise to see sad news about our natural world, especially the wildlife. Today, because of human activity, our planet is experiencing the worst rate of extinction since the dinosaurs. The dodo, the woolly mammoth, and the northern white rhino have already gone extinct. But thanks to conservation efforts, some species that were once at high risk of extinction, like the peregrine falcon, the bison, and the giant panda, have been saved, and today we can still see them in the wild. Now, let me introduce you to a mysterious creature, perhaps the world's most endangered large land mammal. Some call it the Asian unicorn, but its real name is Saola. It lives in one place on Earth, the Anamite Mountains along the border of Laos and Vietnam. It was discovered by scientists only in 1992, and has just been seen in the wild by villagers. And the crazy thing is that we still know so little about this beautiful animal, other than it's very, very rare. The last photo of a Saola was taken by a camera trap in Vietnam in 2013. Experts say that there are probably fewer than 100 left, maybe even fewer than 50 scattered through the Anamite Mountains. With no Saola in captivity and poaching pressure still intense, it is critically endangered. Now, the first step to finding Saola is to find the remaining individuals in the wild. And it's not going to be easy at all. The forest where they live covers more than 25,000 square kilometers. That's bigger than the state of New Jersey. It's worse than searching for a needle in a haystack. So the big question is, is it possible to find the Asian unicorn? Well, a new organization, the Saola Foundation, believes it is and has a plan. When Saola was discovered in the mountains of Vietnam in 1992, it was probably the most stunning zoological find of the 20th century. A few years after Saola was discovered, I had the great good fortune to spend a few weeks observing a captive female Saola in Laos. So beautiful and extraordinary was this animal that my one encounter with her may be what's kept me involved in Saola conservation for decades. Although, unfortunately, she didn't survive long, some of her descendants are probably still in the forest. And to save them, we first need to find them. With the help of the world, with people like you watching this today, the Saola Foundation is going to deploy the search effort needed to find this beautiful animal in an intensive two-year field program in Laos. Saola is a special animal for my country of Laos. My life's ambition is to see a Saola in the wild and to save this beautiful animal from extinction. The cutting-edge methods we're developing with our partners will benefit other threatened species in the spectacular Annamite Mountains. We are embarking on one of the most important and exciting searches of our time for a wild animal. This will be no ordinary search. The Saola is a highly elusive species on the brink of extinction. To save it, our effort must be intensive, in a way almost inconceivable compared to what has been done before. This whole story seems like an exciting adventure straight out of a movie. But the ending hasn't been written yet. So what will be the fate of the Saola? That of the dodo or the panda? What will humanity remember? Saving Saola is possible. We need to act quickly and together in the upcoming year. And here's how you can help. The best way to support us directly is by donating to the search effort. You can also educate yourself and learn more on the Saola Foundation's website. And please share this video to get more people involved. And all together, we can still save Saola.