The saola—one of the rarest and most threatened mammals on the planet—was photographed in Vietnam for the first time in 15 years by a camera trap set by WWF and the Vietnamese government’s Forest Protection Department.

This new image is the first saola sighting in the wild in the 21st century.

“This is a monumental find and comes at a critical moment in time for saola conservation,” said Dr. Barney Long, Director, Species Conservation Program at WWF. “It’s a huge reward for decades of tireless work by the provincial government that established the saola reserve, community snare removal teams and WWF biologists. Now it’s time to double our efforts to recover this iconic species.”

The new images are powerful evidence of the effectiveness of conservation efforts in critical saola habitat. In the area where the saola was photographed, WWF helped implement an innovative law enforcement model in which forest guards are recruited from local communities. Co-managed by WWF and Vietnamese government counterparts, the program works to remove snares and stop illegal hunting—the greatest threat to the saola’s survival.

Since 2011, the forest guard patrols have removed more than 30,000 snares from critical saola habitat. The new sighting of the species is confirmation that the guards’ tireless efforts are paying off.