New species discovered in the jungles of Southeast Asia
From ANIMAL PEOPLE, June 1994:
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia– –Exploration teams in the
jungles of Southeast Asia reported two extraordinary finds in late
April––a small herd of kouprey, an extremely rare wild cow, and an
entirely new deer species, the giant muntjac.
Italian veterinarian Maurizio Dioli tracked the kouprey in
northeastern Cambodia from March 27 until April 7, never actually
seeing any, but collecting evidence of their presence, also observing
“one of the largest populations of Asian elephants and Sumatran tigers
in Asia,” and evidence, too, of enough poaching to “present a major
threat to the survival of the wildlife.”
Scientists haven’t documented a live kouprey sighting since
1967, but fresh remains of animals killed for food by indigenous peo-
ple have been seen at least twice in the past five years.
A World Wildlife Fund team meanwhile discovered trophies
from 19 giant muntjacs, who were trapped by villagers in the Vu
Quang Nature Reserve between July 1993 and January 1994. The vil-
lagers claim giant muntjacs are common in the area––the same area
where a previously unknown species of ox was found two years ago.
The giant munjac weighs from 88 to 110 pounds, the WWF investi-
gators believe, and has longer antlers than other muntjac species.
