Saola Tracks #8: Why Saola still has time (and so says Leonardo), a welcome, some thank-you’s, job openings, and other news
Dear Friends of Saola,
We are pleased to share the following news from Saola conservation and the Saola Foundation:
- IUCN releases an important Position Statement on Saola (and Leonardo di Caprio weighs in with a word).
- Welcome(!) to a new member of the Saola Foundation’s Board of Directors.
- Major new support from Synchronicity Earth, Prague Zoo, Eleanor Briggs and Mandai Nature.
- Mark your calendar in October for a Saola Foundation live webinar on bears.
- Work opportunities with the Saola Foundation.
IUCN Position Statement
The IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC) recently issued an important “Position Statement on the Conservation of Saola.” IUCN’s announcement about this positive step for Saola conservation can be read here.
The key take-homes from the IUCN SSC statement are that Saola can still be saved, yet only about 5% of Saola’s potential habitat in Laos and Vietnam has been specifically searched for Saola, and only about 2% of the habitat searched with the methods and intensity necessary for a good chance to find such a rare animal. Closing this gap in Saola search effort is one of the most pressing wildlife conservation priorities in the world today. It is also one that the Saola Foundation was built specifically to address.
We know how to do this, to find Saola and save it, and the IUCN statement is a wake-up call to action. As Saola Foundation CEO Dr. Lorraine Scotson puts it: “Saving Saola is a resource problem, not a technical one. We understand the challenge, and what it will take to find and thus save Saola. The solution now lies in raising the funds needed to mobilise the intensive search called for by the IUCN Position Statement.”
To paraphrase Mark Twain, any rumors of Saola’s demise are exaggerated, and premature. In response, the Saola Foundation is preparing to launch one of the most important searches of our time for a wild animal. We invite you to join us in this adventure, through your support.
Take it from Leonardo di Caprio, in his tweet following release of the IUCN statement:
We are delighted to announce that Susie Offord-Woolley has been elected to the Saola Foundation Board of Directors.
Susie hails from Northern Ireland, and brings more than a decade of experience in leadership and fund-raising for international conservation programs. She served for seven years as Managing Director of Save the Rhino International, during which time she significantly expanded their fund-raising. She subsequently managed Asian conservation projects for Chester Zoo, and currently leads field conservation partnerships for the Zoological Society of London. Both the Saola Foundation and Saola are immensely fortunate to have Susie on board. Welcome!
Gratitude for new major support from around the world
In more good news from the British Isles, we are delighted to announce a major new grant from the London-based organization Synchronicity Earth (www.synchronicityearth.org). For the remainder of 2021 and 2022, Synchronicity Earth have committed $60,000 to the Saola Foundation, mainly in support of core staff salaries.
And from continental Europe comes fantastic news from our partners and friends at Prague Zoo. Prague recently committed to support the Saola Foundation on an ongoing basis with 1,000 euros/month (about US$1200), to support our Lao national field team.
From America, Eleanor Briggs, a long-time friend and a widely experienced Indochina field hand in her own right (Eleanor and Saola Foundation President Bill Robichaud first met in Vietnam in 1990) recently gifted the Saola Foundation with stock worth more than US$10,000.
And finally, from Asia, Mandai Nature has committed US$15,000 to support the Saola Foundation’s technical team, including support to the salary of our stellar Lao Programs Director, Olay Phommachanh.
All of these donors were early supporters of the Saola Foundation, and we are deeply grateful for their continued commitment to Saola conservation, and to the Saola Foundation’s pursuit of success in this effort. Miroslav Bobek, Director of Prague Zoo, explains Prague Zoo’s commitment this way:
“The Saola has been called an ‘enigmatic’ creature, and even if similar nicknames are often exaggerated, in this case enigmatic is entirely fitting. Even after decades, no biologist has succeeded in studying the Saola in its natural habitat. It is a huge challenge, multiplied by a race against time: Can we learn enough about Saola to save it before it disappears from our planet? In addition to these very compelling reasons for Prague Zoo’s support, I have a personal one. When I dined with Bill Robichaud in a restaurant in Vientiane some years ago, he said, ‘Before I die, I would like to see a Saola once again.’ We are committed to helping make that come true!”
Live webinar on the life of bears (and of a bear biologist), Saturday, October 30
Bears have been particularly hard hit by the same poaching pressure that so threatens Saola (two species of bear are known from the Annamite Mountains, Sun Bear and Asiatic Black Bear). Saola Foundation CEO Dr. Lorraine Scotson has spent nearly a decade on the trails of bears in the Annamites, including as the focus of her PhD research. Join us for the next in our series of live webinars on Saturday, October 30 (local times listed below) for her lively presentation, “Adventures with bears of the Annamites: tales from a field biologist”. Lorraine will lead us on a look at some of her bear adventures and her findings about the lives of bears in both Lao and Vietnam. We will share the Zoom link for her talk soon in an upcoming message.
Saturday, October 30, 2021:
United States and Canada:
Pacific: 8:30 am
Mountain: 9:30 am
Central: 10:30 am
Eastern: 11:30 am
Europe:
United Kingdom (GMT+0): 16:30
Most of continental Europe: 17:30
Asia/Pacific:
Lao/Vietnam/Thailand: 22:30
Singapore: 23:30
Work opportunities
Our team of dedicated, professional volunteers continues to grow, with the recent addition of Ellen Wieczorek. Ellen is American, with a background in animal care in the zoo world, but her skill set extends well beyond that. She is now the Saola Foundation’s new Social Media Coordinator. Welcome to the house, Ellen!
We are pleased to announce an additional part-time volunteer opening, and three new paid positions. First, we seek a volunteer specialist to assist with Search Engine Optimization (SEO) for the Saola Foundation’s online content. If interested in helping us with this, please contact Lorraine Scotson at info@saolafoundation.org.
We also have three paid openings of various types, with a closing date of September 30 to apply. For more information and application instructions, please see here
It’s been a busy, productive time for Saola conservation – and of moving forward. We are deeply grateful for everyone’s continued support.