Newsletter

Newsletters

• Saola Tracks, April 13, 2026: Welcoming the Lao New Year: How you can help in such uncertain times
  Dear Friends of Saola and the Annamite Mountains, Support Our Work in Lao As we all navigate increasingly uncertain global times, the effects are being felt far beyond where many of us live, including in the remote communities of the Annamite Mountains. Rising costs are making everyday life more difficult, and beginning to impact not only conservation efforts, but also the
• Saola Foundation Seminar 2026: The Story of the Lao Newt
  Join us on Thursday 19th March as Bryan L. Stuart talks about the Lao Newt (Laotriton laoensis). The Lao Newt is endemic to a small geographic area in northern Laos. This large, colorful, and rare salamander species is highly sought after in the international pet
• Saola Tracks, February 20, 2026: Field Update & Tracker Training
  Welcome to our first Saola Foundation newsletter of 2026! As we begin a new year, we want to share a brief update from the field and thank you for all your support and being part of this journey with
• Happy Holidays and Warm Wishes from the Saola Foundation
  From all of us at the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation, we wish you a joyful holiday season and a wonderful New Year! This years greeting features members of our Scent Detection Dog Team including our remarkable scent detection dogs, Bertie and Norman, who have been trained to detect the scent of potential Saola dung as part of our flagship
• Saola Tracks, December 5, 2025: Honoring Supporters & Seasonal Highlights
  This seasonal issue is filled with gratitude, remembrance, and festive gifts that support our conservation work in the Annamite Mountains. With Gratitude to Marta Falabrino and Fondazione La Lomellina. In 2023, Fondazione La Lomellina provided crucial support that allowed us to resupply our DNA consumables, enabling Saola DNA testing at a critical moment which is an essential step in our
• Saola Tracks, September 19, 2025: Updates at the Saola Foundation
  Look Out for Our Latest Campaign!. During September we are raising awareness and appealing for more supporters to join our mission. Please do share our ads if you see them, the further they reach the more tracks we can make! to protect the incredible wildlife of the Annamite Mountains
• Saola Tracks, July 9, 2025: Happy World Saola Day!
  Happy World Saola Day! On this special day we are thrilled to take you on a journey deep into the tropical forest with our field team, where we believe Saola still roam. This short film, created by our award winning Media Lead Souksamlan Laladeth, offers a powerful and beautifully shot introduction to the Saola Foundation and our flagship mission to find and save the Saola in the
• Saola Tracks, June 9, 2025: Seminar Series 2025: The Irreplaceable Annamite Mountains
  Saola Foundation’s Seminar Series 2025. The Irreplaceable Annamite Mountains. Stretching over 1,100 km along the border of Lao and Viet Nam and extending into Cambodia, the rugged Annamite Mountains are a little known biodiversity hotspot, hosting a high concentration of endemic species facing global extinction. Despite not receiving the global attention it deserves, there is more at stake in
• Saola Tracks, April 14, 2025: Happy Lao New Year from the Saola Foundation!
  ສະບາຍດີປີໃໝ່! Sabaidee Pi Mai! From all of us at the Saola Foundation, many of whom are proud Lao nationals working tirelessly to protect the Annamite Mountains - we extend our warmest wishes for happiness, health, and renewal to you and your loved ones during Lao New Year (Pi
• Saola Tracks, April 4, 2025: Historic Agreement Signed to Save the Saola!
  Historic Agreement Signed to Save the Saola! We are thrilled to share an exciting milestone for Saola conservation and the Annamite Mountains. The Saola Foundation has signed a transformative Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Government of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic (PDR). This landmark agreement, ratified in February 2025, sets the stage for unprecedented collaborative
• Saola Foundation Winter Seminar Series 2025: The Large-antlered Muntjac
  Saola Foundation’s Winter Seminar Series 2025 Innovation in Research on the Road to Success for the Large-antlered Muntjac. Join us on Saturday 29th March as the Saola Foundation Research Associate, Minh Nguyen, explores the secretive life of one of the rarest and probably most threatened deer species, the Critically Endangered Large-antlered
• Saola Foundation Winter Seminar Series 2025: The Mystery Monkey
  Saola Foundation’s Winter Seminar Series 2025. The Mystery Monkey: What it Takes to Reveal Yet Another New Species in the Annamite Mountains. Join us on Saturday 22nd February as the Saola Foundation team members, Souksamlan (Toun) Laladeth and Phonesouk (Hamnoy) Chanthalavong, along with Dr. Daosavanh Sanamxay from the University of Laos, present the story of how they obtained the first
• Happy Holidays from all of us at the Saola Foundation
  Happy Holidays from all of us at the Saola Foundation! Dear Friends of Saola and the Annamite Mountains, The Red-shanked Douc (Pygathrix nemaeus), depicted in the stunning painting above by the talented artist Dao Van Hoang, is Critically Endangered, like the Saola. We are delighted to feature this painting in our holiday season newsletter, as it symbolizes our broader mission to prevent the
• Give the Gift of Conservation: Saola Foundation Holiday Edition
  RAFFLE PRIZE DRAW! See below for more details. As the holiday season approaches, many of us are searching for meaningful gifts that give back to the community. If you're still thinking of ideas, why not consider something unique that also supports a great cause? Enter the raffle for a chance to win an exclusive Saola plushie! You have until December 4th to enter. See the details below on how to
• Saola Tracks, July 17, 2024: World Saola Day Special
  Did you know that the Saolas has strikingly long, parallel horns that can grow up to around 20 inches (~50 cm) in length? Living exclusively in the forests between Laos and Vietnam, this remarkable species faces immense threats from habitat loss and poaching. On World Saola Day, we celebrate not only the mysterious and critically endangered Saola of the Annamite Mountains but also the dedicated
• Saola Tracks, May 8, 2024: News from the field, a special appeal, and a new way to join the search!
  News from the Field - The Race is on to Find Saola. Our Annual Report 2023 can be downloaded here. In addition, we have a 5-minute video version, viewable here – Enjoy!nIn 2024 to date, our Annamite Mountains Research and Conservation Team have kicked the search for Saola into top gear. The combined efforts of our human and canine trackers are demonstrating an incredible ability to find
• 16th April 2024
  It is with great sadness that we announce the resignation of Board member and Co-Founder, Bill Robichaud, from the Saola Foundation. Bill has been intimately involved in the growth and success of our organization from the very start, guiding us with his passion and unwavering commitment to Saola
• 18th March 2024
  We trust those who joined our seminar with Vatsana last month found it exciting and informative. Now, we are delighted to bring you another engaging experience with another Lao woman working on wildlife conservation, Saturday, March 23 (see local times and registration link
• 17th February 2024
  On a recent call with several of our major supporters, Jack Tordoff, the Managing Director of a major global initiative, the Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund (www.cepf.net), expressed the view that the Saola Foundation is “the best team that’s ever been assembled for a conservation initiative in Southeast Asia”. We are humbled by and grateful for Jack’s high praise. After all our hard
• 20th December 2023
  Our 2023 holiday card features the marvelous work of the Saola Foundation’s expedition photographer, Souksamlan Laladeth, aka “Toun”. Toun photographed these beautiful amphibians and reptiles in the Saola’s range in the Annamite Mountains of Lao PDR. They are a snapshot of the diversity of life we are working the protect with Saola at the
• 10th November 2023
  We are excited to bring you an interview with two of our stellar technical partners, Aimee Hurt of Working Dogs for Conservation and Paul Bunker of Chiron K9. Paul and Aimee recently spent nearly a month with their dogs and our team in Laos. In this interview, they share their insights from the field, and discuss the innovative potential of sign detection dogs to help save rare wildlife species,
• Saola Tracks, September 5, 2023: Welcome to a new Saola Gold Circle member!
  We are delighted to introduce and welcome Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, Hong Kong (OPCFHK) as the newest member of our esteemed Saola Gold Circle. The Saola Gold Circle honors supporters who donate at least $50,000 within one year to the Saola Foundation’s conservation efforts. Ocean Park’s mission is to advocate for and contribute to effective conservation of wildlife in Asia, and
• Saola Tracks, July 2023: World Saola Day!
  Happy World Saola Day! Today, we extend our heartfelt gratitude to all those who have been part of our incredible journey so far. Since World Saola Day last year, we’ve been hard at work assembling our dedicated Saola Search Team. And now, we’re thrilled to announce that we have a fully
• Saola Tracks, June 2023: Board Update and Exciting New Members of the Team!
  We are excited to share updates of the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation, in particular the addition of many new members to our
• Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation 2022 Annual Report
  Dear Friends of Saola, We are delighted to share with you the Saola Foundation’s 2022 Annual Report, which you can
• Two weeks from today! “How wildlife trackers will bring the world’s oldest science to the cutting-edge effort to find and save Saola”
  Wildlife tracking, the art of identifying animal tracks and signs and following their trails to find them, has been called the oldest science. Cultures throughout history have practiced wildlife tracking for food and safety. Only the best trackers came home consistently and safely with food for their people – evidence of
• Saola Tracks, February 8, 2023:  Seminar Talks
  We are delighted to announce our next series of winter/spring seminar talks, offered free and presented live on Zoom. For this next series, we bring you stories of the fascinating work of some of our technical partners. First up, on Saturday, February 25, 2023 will be: “From Mount Everest to the Annamite Mountains:
• Happy Holidays 2022!
  A fig tree in fruit – nothing is more evocative of a Christmas tree in the tropical forests of the Saola’s range, for the abundant gifts of food it provides to many animals. The Saola Foundation is also a bit like a forest fig, through our mission to help a diversity of wildlife in the Annamite Mountains. We are deeply
• Saola Tracks, December 3, 2022:  Get something nice, and save a Saola this Christmas!
  Time to think about holiday gifts? Look no further! Get something nice for you and your loved ones, and save a Saola this Christmas! Thanks to some creative and dynamic
• Saola Tracks, November 30, 2022: Dispatch and some exciting updates from Lao
  Sabaidee! (or, ‘Greetings!’ in English), This month, the entire senior team of the Saola Foundation rendezvoused in Lao: Technical Director Rob Timmins, CEO Lorraine Scotson, President Bill Robichaud, and Lao Programs Director Chanthasone Phommachanh (“Olay”). For most of us, it was our first trip back since the pandemic unfolded, and we have signficant