Rapid Rescue in Vietnam

The Annamites, a rugged mountain chain on the border of Vietnam and Laos, harbors some of the world’s most threatened and least-known mammal species, several of which are found nowhere else on the planet.

One species in particular, the Saola, a type of wild cattle found only in 1992 and last seen on a camera trap in 2013, is on the brink of extinction as the result of poaching across the Annamite forests. Although poachers do not target Saola, they indiscriminately kill ground-dwelling animals with wire snares. This species is likely now down to just a few individuals.

Pictured, from left to right: Forest Guards Dao Viet Thang, Ter Viet Nhan, Le Thanh Tudn (Team Leader), Akieng Nhat Phue, Nquyen Van Treo. Photo by Milo Putnam.

Rapid RESCUE in Vietnam

Funding from the Rapid RESCUE Fund supports WWF-Viet Nam and partners in the search for the last Saola that survive in Vietnam, as a first step in securing these animals for a conservation breeding program designed to ensure the species’ survival. Efforts to find the last remaining individuals will focus on the use of local ecological knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies such as environmental-DNA and intensive camera trapping.

Total project costs: $4,200,000 ($1,400,000 Rapid RESCUE funding; $2,800,000 co-financing)

Pressure from poaching and wire snares in Vietnam is so high many of the forests are eerily silent: "empty forest" is a term used to describe a forest that is structurally intact, but has very few animals left in it. Photo by Milo Putnam.

Rapid RESCUE Fund projects

Rapid RESCUE: Amazonia

Ensuring a resilient Amazonia for post-COVID-19 recovery.

Rapid RESCUE: Democratic Republic of the Congo

Responding to conflict, natural disaster and poaching in Virunga National Park and Upemba National Park.

Rapid RESCUE: Madagascar

Restoring, renovating and rebuilding after cyclones in Kianjavato.

Rapid RESCUE: Niger

Improving resilience and living conditions of local communities to protect the Termit and Tin-toumma National Nature Reserve.

Rapid RESCUE: Vietnam

Saving the Saola, a Critically Endangered species and one of the world's rarest large mammals, from extinction.

Escaping the Snare Crisis

The rainforest was silent. Not a single bird song, rhythmic call of a frog, or the crashing racket of monkeys above our heads. As we walked the lush overgrown trails of the nature reserve, we were left with the disappointing serenade of only our heavy breathing and mucky footsteps. This silence was a jarring reminder of just how empty Vietnam’s forests have become. Ecosystems that should be teeming with fantastical oddities like Large-antlered Muntjac, known as ‘barking deer,’ or the echoing whoops of Annamite Crested Argus--species that are now so rare their natural choruses are close to vanishing forever.

Months before my shins were covered with tacky leech socks --essential for shielding away unwanted tagalongs --I had begun preparing for Vietnam and what might be in store. In fact, the planning and preparation for this storytelling trip spanned the course of years, even preceding my time with Team Re:wild. Our group considered every detail to ensure we could successfully collect footage and photographs to absorb inspiring stories from the field. Why? The Annamite mountains of Vietnam and Laos harbor some of the world’s most threatened and least-known mammal species, several of which are on the cusp of disappearing.