Project Peril: Help Save the Saola
Help save the saola from extinction!
In the mountains of Vietnam, there lives an allusive, horned creature. Did the word “unicorn” just pop into your head? You wouldn’t be first to think that! Commonly dubbed the “Asian Unicorn,” the mysterious saola was only recently discovered and has been documented by scientists in the wild only four times. Right now, we have more alleged photos of Big Foot than of the saola.
In May of 1992, the Ministry of Forestry of Vietnam and the World Wildlife Fund discovered a skull with long horns, one they had never seen before. It belonged to the beautiful saola. This marked the first time in 50 years that scientists had discovered a new large mammal.
Though the saola was only recently discovered, it is already a critically endangered species. Habitat loss caused by encroaching agriculture, plantations, and infrastructure have reduced and fragmented the areas saolas call home. The saola also gets caught in the cross-hairs of illegal poaching, falling victim to traps set for animals like the wild boar.
In order to protect the endangered species and habitats of Vietnam like the saola, Greater Good Charities’ Global Discovery Expeditions program is heading there on a research trip this June. With the help of Vietnamese and American scientists, they will study key ecosystems at the Sao La Nature Reserve in Vietnam in order to propel conservation efforts forward. But they need your help to save species like the saola from total extinction.
We’ve barely gotten to know the saola, and now we might lose them before we have the chance to study and understand this majestic creature. Your donation can help save species like the saola before it’s too late.
Greater Good Charities has ultimate authority and discretion with regard to the distribution of its funds. All expenditures made are consistent with the exempt purposes of Greater Good Charities.
About Global Discovery Expeditions:
Global Discovery Expeditions is a program of Greater Good Charities, dedicated to exploring, studying, and protecting key biodiversity hotspots facing imminent threat and loss by providing the initial key step in conservation – the observation and recording of living species within an ecosystem.
