Incidentally snared and actively hunted
The main threat to the saola is the snares set in the forest for wild boar, sambar or barking deer, which are hunted for their meat. But being non-selective, the snares also trap saola. Locals set some snares for subsistence use and crop protection, but recent increases in lowland people hunting to supply the illegal trade in wildlife has led to a massive increase in hunting pressure.
In the north of their range, saola are hunted for the horns which have become prized trophies. Although there is no trade in saola in Quang Nam, people from Da Nang recently have started visiting some communes to try purchasing saola skulls (in one case, in return for two fishing nets).In the Annamites, where the saola lives, there is a high level of poverty and rapid and extensive infrastructure development as a government measure to reduce rural poverty.
Natural predators of the saola likely include the Dhole (Cuon alpinus), tiger (Panthera tigris) and leopard (Panthera pardus).
Hunting
Hunting is carried out for both commercial and personal reasons. The incidental capture of saola in traps targeted at other species is considered to be a major threat throughout Truong Son.
Saolas are reported to react intensely to the presence of domestic dogs, seeking the relative safety of a river where they make a stand, horns lowered, with their back against the bank. According to local people, this behaviour makes it relatively easy to kill saolas using dogs
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Habitat loss and degradation
This problem is attributed to a range of underlying causes that include shifting cultivation in Lao, and increased infrastructure development in the Vietnamese Truong Son.
Find out more about habitat loss and degradation