Asia's kouprey may not be new species

October 22nd, 2006 in Biology /
Asia's kouprey may not be new species (AP)

In this photo released by Wildlife Fund Thailand, a Kouprey is shown in this 1937 photo at the Vincennes Zoo in Paris. Among the rarest mammals in Southeast Asia, the kouprey's discovery almost 70 years ago in the jungles of Cambodia stunned the scientific community and led to a decades-long campaign to save it from extinction. Recent findings suggest that the kouprey, which may well be extinct, most likey originated as a domestic hybrid between the banteng and zebu cattle in Cambodia a century ago. (AP Photo/Wildlife Fund Thailand)

(AP) -- Among the rarest mammals in Southeast Asia, the kouprey's discovery almost 70 years ago in the jungles of Cambodia stunned the scientific community and led to a decades-long campaign to save it from extinction. But what if this elusive forest ox wasn't a natural species after all?

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