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The new animals remain elusive, known mostly through their bones and skins. But a team of British and Laotian fieldworkers under contract to New York's Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) say they have taken blood samples from a live specimen of one of the creatures -- the giant muntjac -- in a menagerie owned by a Laotian military group. If they are correct, studies of the captive animal could confirm the claim made earlier this year by Vietnamese scientists and MacKinnon concerning the giant muntjac. MacKinnon analyzed a skull brought to him by Do Tuoc and Shanthini Dawson, an Indian biologist. It resembled that $ of a muntjac, also known as a barking deer, but the head and antlers were much larger and configured differently. After measuring many varieties of muntjac skulls, MacKinnon decided the new specimen must have come from a distinct species, and Arctander concurred after studying its DNA. It is probably a new genus as well, though taxonomists will have to ponder that issue for a while. MacKinnon dubbed it the giant muntjac, figuring that it weighs about 100 lbs., or 50% more than the common muntjac.
Evidence of a third new mammal comes from the work of Vietnamese biologist Nguyen Ngoc Chinh, who went to Pu Mat, north of Vu Quang, to look for the Vu Quang ox. He returned with the skull of an animal the local hunters call quang khem, or slow-running deer, and scientists have taken to calling Chinh's deer. It is too early to say whether this is also a new species, but Arctander has so far been unable to match its DNA with that of known varieties of deer.
How could the natural riches of Vu Quang remain unknown to outsiders for so long, especially given the crowded conditions in much of Vietnam and the relentless deforestation taking place? Part of the explanation lies in the region's steep, ragged terrain and exceptionally wet, sweltering weather conditions. The mountainous spine that divides Vietnam and Laos traps moisture evaporated from the South China Sea, creating an unusually stable but inhospitable climate. Incessant rains during the rainy season and dripping fogs during the dry season nurture a slick algae that add a treacherous coating to rocks and other surfaces. That may explain why the Vu Quang ox evolved narrow, two-toed hooves with a concave area on the bottom that could give the animal a better grip on the terrain.
Humans have no such advantages. In addition to slippery rocks, infernal heat and regular downpours, the region has leeches and malaria to discourage two- legged visitors. On the Vietnamese side, even native hunters rarely remain long in the forest; instead they catch game by setting snares or by using dogs that chase animals down to the slightly more accessible riverbanks.