Join us and help prevent irreversible biodiversity loss within the Annamite Mountains
Image Credit: Souksamlan Laladeth
About The Saola Foundation
The Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation is here to protect the Annamite Mountains bioregion by leading efforts to prevent unrecoverable biodiversity loss.
Founded in 2020 we are the only organization in the world specifically focused on this unique, irreplaceable and globally significant bioregion.
We are working to raise awareness and address the need for increased and urgent conservation efforts. Through a combination of direct interventions, empowering national conservationists, applied research, priority setting and collaborating with key stakeholders.
We aim to maximize long-term biodiversity conservation gains in the Annamite Mountains by preventing the extinction of species, such as: Saola, Large-antlered Muntjac, and the unidentified leaf monkey, while restoring and maintaining ecosystems to safeguard these and other Critically Endangered wildlife.
An Ancient and Irreplaceable Wilderness of Southeast Asia
The Annamite Mountains came to recent global attention with an astonishing series of new species discoveries, including the Saola Pseudoryx nghetinhensis, the Large-antlered Muntjac Muntiacus vuquangensis, and the Annamite Striped Rabbit Nesolagus timminsi. This region’s pace of surprising scientific discoveries surpasses anywhere else in the world, with yet more to be found.
Ranked as one of the world’s most important bioregions, it hosts one of the Earth’s highest concentrations of endemic species for a continental area. The Annamites also has perhaps the world’s highest concentration of highly threatened species, due to recent surges in largely commercially driven natural resource exploitation and relatively low levels of conservation investment, making the Annamites one of the most important areas for increased conservation attention globally. Without urgent changes, the Saola and other irreplaceable Annamite biodiversity may be lost forever.
The Annamites also represent an important nexus between cultural and biodiversity conservation. This region has been described as an area of “linguistic and cultural mega- diversity”, with most of these languages and cultures found only in the Annamites.
Learn more about the Annamite Mountains through our webinar here.
Our Team
Programs
Over the next 25 years, we will focus our efforts on unrecoverable biodiversity loss by preventing the global extinction of species, such as the Saola and Large-antlered Muntjac, as well as the many cryptic and otherwise overlooked species facing imminent global extinction, while protecting and restoring irreplaceable Annamite ecosystems to prevent extinction of these and other highly threatened species.
Click on the species to find out more
Saola
Pseudoryx nghetinhensis
Critically Endangered
Large-antlered Muntjac
Muntiacus vuquangensis
Critically Endangered
New Species of Leaf Monkey
A member of the Francoisi Leaf Monkey (Tracypithecus francoisi) group of limestone karst associated monkeys
Critically Endangered
Donate
Your support goes a long way
Your contribution supports the incredible Lao team dedicated to Saola conservation, and enables conservation efforts in the Annamite Mountains
Sponsor a full day of Saola search, supporting our wildlife trackers and elite scent detection dogs as they brave the Annamite Mountains in search of the elusive and critically endangered Saola.
We welcome sponsorship enquiries for key equipment and field supplies, please reach out for more information and the opportunities available info@saolafoundation.org
Our Gold Partners are instrumental in the change we are making, contributing significantly to our mission. Find out more about the benefits of becoming a partner.
Articles
The Search to Find, and Save, the Last Saola
Bill Robichaud, Co-Founder, Director, Saola Foundation 17th April 2023
Today, April 17, marks the 50th anniversary of an event of considerable historical significance,yet little noted: the last US bombing mission over Laos. This largely brought to an end the so – called “Secret War”, a nine-year conflict hidden for most of that time from the US Congress, the …
Treasure Hunt Campaign
Recent PostsGoing on a Treasure Hunt Week 4 of 4 April 21, 2024 In 2016, 233 million people around the world went on a treasure hunt. To some of us, the treasure they were looking for may not have been worth much, but to those nearly quarter of a billion people spending time looking for […]
Scent Detectives: Extraordinary Partners in the Quest to Find Saola in the Wild of Laos
Meet Aimee Hurt and Paul Bunker, two dedicated individuals who work with dogs to make a significant impact on wildlife conservation. In this article, we delve into an engaging conversation with Paul and Aimee, learning more about them, scent detection dogs and exploring their experiences during an expedition in Lao in late 2022 alongside the […]