Hanoi, Jul 11 (IANS): The world's first centre for breeding Saola, a critically endangered hoofed mammal, is being constructed in Vietnam's central region.

The centre in Bach Ma National Park in Thua Thien Hue province will open in 2018 as a joint effort by the Saola World Working Group and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature, which will help tackle the ungulate endemic, Xinhua news agency quoted the park's management board as saying on Tuesday.

Since Saola, the pseudoryx nghetinhensis, was spotted for the first time in 1992, scientists have documented this rare species in the wild on only four occasions, according to the Worldwide Fund for Nature (WWF).

The latest recorded sighting of Saola was in 2013 in central Vietnam.

Saola is recognised by two parallel horns with sharp ends, which can reach 51 centimetres in length and are found on both males and females.

Meaning "spindle horns" in Vietnamese, Saola is a cousin of cattle but resembles an antelope.