Previous Post: Mexico’s Popocatepetl volcano spews gas and ash nbsp
A bloody boon for conservation
Nature – Bloodsucking leeches are offering the best hope of finding one of the world’s rarest animals. The saola (Pseudoryx nghetinhensis) was first described from skulls found in a Vietnamese forest reserve1, but the elusive antelope has rarely been seen alive. Little is known about its range or population, which probably numbers in the low hundreds. Conservationists are now planning to trawl tropical leeches for saola DNA. Prompted by research published this week2 showing that the bloodsuckers can store DNA from their meals for several months… Read article
Tags: nature universe