Laos saola search continues, but funding beyond October is uncertain
The story at a glance
A Saola Foundation search in Laos faced an uncertain return to the forest after a contraction in funding. October support later came through, largely from zoo donations, but fundraising for subsequent months continued.1
The saola remains difficult to find, and its survival is unresolved. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says non-detection alone is not enough to conclude that the species is absent.3
The story in brief
What you need to know
- The Foundation initially said it could not confirm the team’s return to the forest in October. Mongabay later reported that October funding was secured, largely through zoo donations, while support for later months remained uncertain. The Foundation continues to seek funding to keep the team in the field.12
- The Foundation describes a target search area of about 300 square kilometres in Bolikhamxay province. Its team is using local trackers, detection dogs and field DNA testing. These are search methods, not evidence of a saola detection.26
- The IUCN Species Survival Commission classifies the saola as Critically Endangered. It says the species has not been conclusively detected since 2013, and only a small proportion of potential habitat has been surveyed intensively.3
- A large camera-trap survey in Viet Nam, running from 2022 to 2025, documented many other species but did not establish a new saola detection. WWF also reports that scientists have yet to see the species in the wild.4
- Views differ on whether the saola survives. Re:wild’s Barney Long told Mongabay that he personally thinks it has been lost; the Foundation’s chief executive rejected extinction as a conclusion supported by the available evidence. Population estimates also vary, and the IUCN cautions against firm conclusions from the available data.635
Conservation context
Why this matters
The search is an effort to establish whether the saola remains, but its continuation depends on funding that is not yet secured beyond October. The IUCN warns that low detectability and limited intensive survey coverage make absence difficult to establish, so a lack of records cannot settle the question.123
The developing story
What happens next
The Foundation says its team is back in the field and is seeking further support. The immediate unknowns are how long the current funding will sustain the work and whether the search will produce confirmed evidence of the saola’s presence.12
Established evidence
What we know
- The saola has not been conclusively detected since 2013, according to the IUCN Species Survival Commission.3
- The IUCN says only a small proportion of potential habitat has been surveyed intensively and that low detectability makes conclusions from non-detection premature.3
- The Foundation’s campaign page says its team is searching in October in an area of about 300 square kilometres in Bolikhamxay province, Laos.2
Open questions
What we don't know
- How long the Laos field team can continue operating with the funding currently secured.12
- Whether the current search will produce a confirmed saola detection or other evidence of the species’ presence.23
- How many saola, if any, remain. Reported estimates differ, and the IUCN says the available evidence does not support reliable data-driven conclusions about presence or absence.653
- If a saola is found, what practical conservation action could follow and how it would be funded.3
Source coverage
