18th June 2023
Dear Friends of Saola,

We are excited to share updates of the Saola Foundation for Annamite Mountains Conservation, in particular the addition of many new members to our team.

Board Update

With the end of his term, David Hulse has stepped down from our Board of Directors. David has been an incredibly valuable and committed member of the Board, and we are grateful for the support and contributions David has brought to the Saola Foundation. 

We are delighted to announce a new Board member to succeed David, Mr. Inthy Deaunsawanh. Inthy was born in northern Laos (where as child he lived with his family in a cave, to avoid American bombing), and now lives in Vientiane. He is the founder and owner of Laos’s first and largest ecotourism company, Green Discovery.
 
Inthy is well known and respected in Laos and beyond as a visionary business leader, dedicated to conservation and sustainability. He is a member of the Board of the Asian Ecotourism Network, and his profile on AEN’s website reads:  “This remarkable man, who was born in a cave and went on to study at Moscow University, has completed the Iron Man challenge and continually strives for excellence in everything he does. His businesses now support more the 2,000 families, whilst embracing an ethos of strong social, cultural and environmental responsibility.” We are most fortunate to able to add Inthy’s talent, experience and passion to the Saola conservation mission. Welcome, Inthy!
 

Introducing Some of Our New Lao Team Members

Since late last year, Olay Phommachanh (Lao Programs Director), Xai Khiewvongphachan (Field Coordinator) and Rob Timmins (Technical Director) of the Saola Foundation, along with Aimee Hurt and Paul Bunker of Working Dogs for Conservation and Lee Gutteridge of CyberTracker have been busy assessing local candidates in the Annamite Mountains of Lao PDR to select the best members for the Saola Field Team, also nicknamed the ‘Saola Super Team’. In addition to the new members of the Saola Field Team, we have also expanded our support team and we are proud to introduce some of these new Lao team members.

We are on the brink of starting our two-year intensive search and with our new, highly qualified and talented members, we have created the best team possible for the Saola search. We will introduce more members of the team in an upcoming newsletter.

Lastly, we are extremely grateful to all of our donors and supporters, and in particular the following for their significant donations since the start of this year:

Mandai Nature ($50,000)
Synchronicity Earth ($40,000)
Critical Ecosystem Partnership Fund ($25,385)
Scentbird Inc. ($13,947)
Taronga Zoo Sydney ($10,039)
Kristine Karnos ($10,000)
David Karnos ($10,000)
Ramona Mays ($10,000)
Wildlife Conservation Society ($10,000)
The McConnell Foundation ($9,800)
Zoo Zlin ($6,520)
Givskud Zoo Zootopia ($4,970)
Sum of Us ($3,000)
Plzen Zoo ($2,167)
Ryan McMullen ($2,000)
Burton Smith Productions ($1,800)
Steve Burns ($1,500)
Alice Puleo ($1,000)
David Posner ($750)
Hardy Pleske ($747)

The Saola Foundation team