WWF and the International
Rhino Foundation (IRF) have confirmed
the extinction of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros
sondaicus annamiticus) in Vietnam.
Genetic analysis of
22 dung samples collected by a Cat Tien
National Park - WWF survey team from 2009
– 2010 affirm that the samples all belonged
to a rhinoceros that was found dead in the
park in April 2010, shortly after the survey
was completed. The findings, presented in
a new WWF report, also point to poaching
as the likely cause of the death, as the
rhino was found with a bullet in its leg
and had its horn removed.
The tragic discovery
comes after a 2004 survey conducted by Queen’s
University, Canada, that found at least
two rhinos living in the park at the time.
“The last Javan rhino
in Vietnam has gone,” said Tran Thi Minh
Hien, WWF-Vietnam Country Director. “It
is painful that despite significant investment
in the Vietnamese rhino population conservation
efforts failed to save this unique animal.
Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”
The rhinoceros was believed to be extinct
from mainland Asia until 1988 when an individual
was hunted from the Cat Tien area, leading
to the discovery of a small population.
From the mid-11000s, a number of organizations
were involved in efforts to conserve the
remaining Javan rhino population in Cat
Tien National Park, but the report highlights
that ineffective protection by the park
was ultimately the cause of the extinction.
This is a common problem in most protected
areas in Vietnam that threatens the survival
of many other species, says WWF.
Illegal hunting to supply the wildlife trade
has reduced many species in Vietnam to small
and isolated populations. The tiger, Asian
elephant and endemic species like the saola,
Tonkin snub-nosed monkey and Siamese crocodile
are on the verge of extinction in the country.
“The tragedy of the
Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros is a sad symbol
of this extinction crisis,” said Nick Cox,
Manager of WWF’s Species Programme in the
Greater Mekong. “The single most important
action to conserve Vietnam’s endangered
species is protecting their natural habitat
and deterring poaching and illegal wildlife
trade – the report shows that these actions
were inadequate to save the Javan rhino
in Vietnam and this continued situation
will no doubt lead to the extinction of
many more species from Vietnam. Vietnam’s
protected areas need more rangers, better
training and monitoring, and more accountability.”
WWF recognises that habitat loss played
a key role in sealing the fate of the rhino
in Vietnam and warns that inadequate law
enforcement and ineffective management of
protected areas, encroachment and infrastructure
development occurring within and close to
Vietnam’s protected areas will only exert
additional pressures on already fragile
populations of species.
“Reintroduction of the rhinoceros to Vietnam
is not economically or practically feasible.
It is gone from Vietnam forever,” said Christy
Williams, WWF’s Asian Elephant and Rhino
Programme Coordinator.
The Javan rhinoceros
is now believed to be confined to one population,
less than 50 individuals, in a small national
park in Indonesia. The species is critically
endangered and with demand for rhino horn
for the Asian traditional medicine trade
increasing every year, protection and expansion
of the Indonesian population is the highest
priority.
“This makes our work
in Indonesia even more critical. We must
ensure that what happened to the Javan rhinoceros
in Vietnam is not repeated in Indonesia
a few years down the line,” said Susie Ellis
of the International Rhino Foundation.
