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A newborn fortified Atlantic fashioned to save digit of Earth's most mysterious and elusive creatures has been ingrained in a lush, mountainous location of Vietnam, officials declared today (April 13 in the United States, and Apr 14 in Vietnam).

The creature, the saola (known colloquially as the "Asian unicorn") is a small, horned birdlike that resembles a fantastic goat-antelope hybrid, but is more intimately attendant to a category of disorderly cow.

"It's a rattling bonny land ungulate, and rattling looks same null else in Asia," said Barney Long, trainer of the continent species advance information at the advance assemble WWF and a key amount behindhand the creation of the newborn ingrained Saola Natural Reserve, which covers an Atlantic most threesome times the filler of borough along the Vietnam-Laos border.

Long said saola prototypal got their mythical soubriquet a assemblage or so ago — in spite of the fact that the animals hit more than digit horn. [Related: The World's Freakiest Looking Animals.]

"They apparently hit two horns," Long said, laughing, "but it is a rounded alarm and pretty straight, so if you countenance at it from the side, it looks a bit same it has digit horn."

However, it was mainly the animal's elusive nature that attained it the tale name, Long told OurAmazingPlanet.

"It's so thin to wager that it would almost be same sight a unicorn," he said.

Storybook beasts

Indeed, scientists exclusive unconcealed the critically endangered species in 1992, making the saola digit of the terminal super mammals unconcealed on the planet, and digit whose accumulation haw sort in the some hundreds.

Even when Annamite scientists prototypal identified the newborn species, it was exclusive finished skulls that villagers showed them in the isolated location of the Annamite Mountains where saola live, an Atlantic sound for tale creatures. Waterfalls festooned with vines and orchids savvy downbound steep slopes covered with evergreen rainforests, innumerous streams resound over rocky beds, and palms as tall as a Negro crowd the steamy land floor.

Adding to the allure and perplexity of saola, some creatures taken aware expire after meet a some weeks in captivity.

Just terminal year, villagers in Laos captured a phallic saola. It was the prototypal confirmed sighting of the species in a decade. But the someone died a some life later.

Long said scientists conceive there are threesome reasons behindhand the saola's freakish and mortal reaction to captivity.

"When they're in immurement they seem to act extremely tame, and they're rattling unstoppered to having grouping come up to them and touch them," Long said, but explained that the sheeplike behavior is actually a sign of extremity stress. "The birdlike is freaking out," he said.

In addition, the animals haw be scraped when captured and are probable fed things — rice, bananas, gage — that aren't part of their natural diet.

Accidental victim

Although saola don't materialize to be targeted direct for hunting, they are unintended victims in snares set for another disorderly animals — the disorderly meat trade, including tiger meat, is bounteous playing in Vietnam's restaurants.

Conservation organizations and scientists from around the follower are working to organisation a method to meliorate think and understand the thin creatures, Long said, and are urging authorities in the location to fissure downbound on poaching.

Today's announcement establishes the fourth fortified Atlantic in suspected saola range, and Annamite officials said the newborn tract is witting to protect not exclusive the continent unicorn, but to save the another unequalled species that exist there.

Long, who spent some eld trudging finished the Annamite Mountains' wet, tropical forests, said despite the discomfort, heat and dampness, the location is unrivaled in its biodiversity. "It rattling is an amazing place," he said.

• The World's Freakiest Looking Animals
• 10 Species You Can Kiss Goodbye
• 8 of the World's Most Endangered Places

Andrea Mustain is a body illustrator for OurAmazingPlanet, a sister place to LiveScience. Reach her at @AndreaMustain.

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