That’s a darn good question. Protecting the areas where they will most likely be is a good start, but nothing says conservation like a species recognition i.e. a body/parts of a body/live specimen. You have the animal, you have access to information about it, therefore you can better protect it. You need a type specimen for that kind of specific conservation knowledge.

Its kind of interesting how well this study fits with major crypto-zoological discoveries of the past century and more recently: From Komodo Dragons to Gorillas and Okapis, to Giant African forest hogs, Giant Muntjacs and the Saola, the Luzon Lizard, and Bili/Bondo giant chimps, most big animal species recently discovered have been in tropical environments. If someone is looking for large bigfoot-type monsters, perhaps the best place to look is in places like southeast Asia, South America, Africa, etc? This is not to say such cryptid legends like Sasquatch don’t exist: its just that, given the discovery record, those types of beings are more likely to be found in tropical environments than in far northern latitudes.

Move over Bigfoot and Nessie: say hellow to Vasitri and Sucuriju Gigante?