I stumbled upon the news of an Asian unicorn that unfortunately died in captivity. The Saola is a rare creature that resembles the antelope in North Africa and hasn't been seen since 1999. This particular species is listed as critically endangered on the IUCN Red list of Threatened Species. It was great news to the world when the Lao government announced in August that villagers in the central province of Bolikhamxay had captured an Asian unicorn, despite having two, and not just one horn.
What were the measures taken to ensure that the specieswould survive and why was it taken in captivity in the first place? While I understand that perhaps they wanted to perform some studies of the Saola, understand it's behavior, and try to preserve the species, if it has lived without being seen for 10 years, well then wouldn't it just be better off on its own?
The death of the Saola makes me wonder why, despite taking animals into captivity to "preserve" their species when they are critically endangered, animals still continue to die. Yes, it is true that there are some successful stories where animals are able to breed and raise the number of the species left, I just don't agree with keeping animals in captivity. Zoo's are wonderful opportunities for people to go see the animals, study them, and have a good time overall, but no animal should be locked up in a cage for people's pleasure and entertainment. We destroy their environment, and then we lock them up to preserve their species? After the death of this Saola, hopefully not the last of its species, I hope some measures are taken to ensure that IF animals are to be taken in captivity, it is done so to preserve them, and not just carelessly lock
them up.
Link to site: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/39231503/ns/technology_and_s
cience-science/
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