Biologists, zoologists, conservationists and journalists who once believed in the ‘critically endangered’ ring-horned ox—known in Khmer as the “Khting Vor”—may soon join the increasing number of non-believers.
Whether or not it ever existed, the elusive bovine will always be a beast of burden—carrying upon its mythically embelished shoulders the weight of clashing Eastern and Western philosophies. Legend, hearsay and a possible black market racket have merged to challenge scientific research and highlight the importance of folklore in Cambodia.
Take the story of a Prey Veng province farmer who was sent by the Khmer Rouge to Pursat province to work in the fields. One day, the legend goes, the Khmer Rouge soldiers guarding his camp killed a Khting Vor for food. The farmer believed in the animal’s medicinal powers, and risked his life to steal the horns from the carcass, which had been left to rot in the detention camp.
The farmer kept the horns. After the Khmer Rouge was ousted in 1979, he moved to Mondolkiri province to live with his daughter, where the horns began to serve their purpose.
Snakes were killing off his daughter’s cattle, so, applying his knowledge of traditional medicine, the farmer used Khting Vor horn to treat snakebite, and his daughter’s cattle survived.
The daughter kept a piece of horn with her for protection from the poisonous venom of snakes, scorpions and centipedes. Once, she left the piece of horn on a log while she worked, and upon returning to fetch it, found a snake lying still, mesmerized by the Khting Vor remnant.
This is just one story among thousands surrounding the mystery of the Khting Vor. The stories are not all from the mouths of superstitious villagers and myth-wielding witch doctors. The above story came from Lic Vuthy, currently the Species Program Manager for the Worldwide Fund for Nature. Although he believes these stories, he is reluctant to state whether he thinks the Khting Vor is or was a species native to Cambodia.
“This is a difficult question,” he says.
Hunter Weiler, international adviser to the WPO Community Wildlife Ranger Program, is also skeptical regarding the existence of Pseudonovibos spiralis, as the Khting Vor is know in scientific circles. After years of research and investigative journeys into the wilderness in search of the beast, he reluctantly concedes that the Khting Vor only exists, as Colin Poole, country program coordinator for the Wildlife Conservation Society puts it, “in the Khmer psyche.”
The Khting Vor (Khmer for “spiral horned ox”) moved from the sphere of myth toward the grounds of reality in 1994, when two German researchers described a new species along the Vietnam-Cambodia border. They “discovered” the Kting Vohr after collecting a set of horns and finding others in various markets in the area.
There are approximately 21 sets of alleged Khting Vor horn specimens in the world, all similarly shaped. The horns are typically twisted at the tip with semi-regular corrugations along their length. No skin, skeletons or skulls have ever been found.
With the advent of DNA testing, the horns that reside in various collections in Europe, the US and Cambodia have proven to be altered versions of cow or buffalo horns.
French naturalist Arnoult Seveau of the Zoological Society of Paris came to Cambodia in 1999 in hopes of finding a Khting Vor. After interviewing many Cambodian hunters and farmers, and traveling to some of the more remote supposed habitats, Seveau was no closer to finding one than anyone else.
He did find five sets of horns, and upon returning to France, he set to work with other specialists to scientifically scrutinize them. Their conclusion was that the horns came from cows and buffalo and that they had been “artificially deformed.”
One possible explanation for the manipulation of so many sets of horns is that they were created not to fool scientists, but were simply products supplied to fill the demands of the horn market. In the early 20th century, when the horns of any large animal were considered enviable trophies, owning the horns of an animal so enveloped in powerful myth and medicinal properties would have been the jewel in the crown of any hunter’s collection. So cunning Cambodians may have created their own horns to fill the hole in the market.
Weiler believes that it may take years for the Khting Vor to be removed from the world’s official list of endangered fauna, because every available specimen has not yet been rigorously tested for authenticity. “Perhaps in the next few years the final nails will be put in the coffin and the Khting Vor will be laid to rest.” he said. “But the scientific process will continue until it is proven that this creature never existed.”
But people are always hungry for a good mystery. The notion that a such a creature may be discovered in the forest one day still has some people unwilling to dismiss the possible existence of the Khting Vor.
The owner of The Golden Parrot restaurant in Skuon town, Kompong Cham province, is one avid believer. She has her prized Khting Vor horns attached to a ceramic head, hanging proudly on the wall for all to see, and she adamantly states that her horns are real. She even carries a small slither of the horn to protect her from snakes, centipedes and scorpions.
A security guard from a rubber plantation having lunch at The Golden Parrot spoke up. “Hunters in the forest here can bring some [Khting Vor] horns for you,” he said.
Told that horns were plentiful, and what was sought was a live animal, he smiled.
“I will take your phone number and call you when I have one,” he said. “But first I will need to ask permission from local authorities and arrange the clearance forms.”
