This rare saola, also known as the "Asian unicorn",was captured in Laos late last month. Photo/PA

Scientists have confirmed the first sighting in more than a decade of one of the world’s rarest animals – the saola, sometimes called Asia’s “unicorn.”

The animal was captured by villagers in Laos in August, according to the International Union for the Conservation of Nature. The villagers took the saola back to their village in Bolikhamxay province and Laotian conservation authorities sent a team to check on the animal. The creature, likely weakened from its time in captivity, died shortly after that team arrived.

“The death of this Saola is unfortunate,” the Provincial Conservation Unit of Bolikhamxay province said in the IUCN statement. “But at least it confirms an area where it still occurs and the government will immediately move to strengthen conservation efforts there.”

This was the first confirmed sighting of a saola since 1999, when remotely triggered cameras took images of one in Laos.

Read more here.

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