May 10, 2010
| 
15
One of the world’s last Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) has been shot and killed by poachers in Vietnam, the World Wildlife Fund said Monday. The animal was shot and its horn, valued in traditional Asian medicine, was cut off.
No one knows exactly how many Javan rhinos remain in the world, but estimates for the population range from 40 to 60 animals, with possibly eight existing in Vietnam’s Cat Tien National Park. The critically endangered species is elusive, rarely photographed and almost never observed in the wild. None exist in captivity.
“This is devastating news for rhino conservation and Vietnam,” the WWF’s Dung Huynh Tien said in a prepared statement.
The WWF is now asking the Vietnam government to launch a criminal investigation into the rhino’s death. The species is legally protected in Vietnam, where punishments for killing endangered species can include fines or prison sentences.
Rhino poaching worldwide hit a 15-year high last year as demand for their horns has driven prices up ever higher.
Photo: Rare photo of a Javan rhino, courtesy of WWF.
15 CommentsAdd a Comment
You must log in or register as a ScientificAmerican.com member to submit a comment.
Anna Post on Managing Our Digital Spaces
Wholesome food and wholesome morals: does seeing organic make you act like jerk?
Learning the Hard Way
USC Dornsife Scientific Diving: The Navy Dive Tables
Worst Column Ever by Times Pundit David Brooks: "When the Good Do Bad" 
Lithium Ion Batteries Help to Reduce Peak Load at UC Riverside
YES! Send me a free issue of Scientific American with no obligation to continue the subscription. If I like it, I will be billed for the one-year subscription.
Share
Email
Print
Anyone who purchases Rhino horn in any form is responsible for this travesty.
My guess is Chinese medicine users.
Link to thisRiiiight . . . Vietnam *might* spend its resources on the pressing issue of rhino protection. It might even *fine* somebody for the slaughter of the last of a species so an ignorant Chinese can copulate better. We all know there just aren’t enough Chinese in the world today. The ONLY chance for declining species is for WWF [and Greenpeace, and any other wildlife protection agency] to arm resistors, and shoot to kill any and all poachers.
Link to thisNice.
Link to thisWas this one for the libido, the stomach, or the coffee table?
There appears to be an enormous market for Viagra in China & those countries that share the Chinese belief that rhino horn will increase virility. Let’s make sure that Pfizer gets into those markets SOON! Before any more rare animals have to die.
Link to thisbrain
Link to thisbrain
Link to thisI’m currently living in Vietnam. Sadly a lot of animals here are eaten to extinction or poached for their medicinal value. I’ve been to a lot of restaurants that serves, pangolin, civet cats, turtles, foxes etc. Any animal could be turned into a wine in a bottle. There is apparently a number you can call to report the that sells them but I doubt they do anything about it.
Even the holy turtle of the famous Hoan Kiem lake is one the four last known living Rafetus Swinhoei specie around the world. Three of them is in China, one is in Vietnam in Hoan Kiem Lake. The lake it lives is under a poor condition. Yet, locals maybe are not aware that if this turtle die, part of their culture will die.
Link to thisThere is no political will in South East Asian nations to enforce existing regulations in poaching . Stringent rules that carry a heavy fine or the death penalty might deterrent be long term solution .
Link to thisPersonally I think the only hope we have is to store the genetic code of these animals and bring them back from extinction at some point in the future when it is techologically and socially feasible.
Link to thisSAD….so SAD
Link to thisThis is an extremely said story. It is not right that people have to kill innocent wildlife for money. They should have harsh punishments and fines if they do this harmful things to animals.
Link to thisWow this is insane!! I don’t understand why people like this would do something to an innocent animal. There should be a law for poaching and give the dumb people that do this something to think about. But, then again they could go and do it again. So we should try and help the animals that are on the road to extinction due to poaching.
Link to thisWow this is insane!!! I don’t understand why people would do this to an innocent animal. I think that there should be a law for the dumb people who think poaching animals that cause no harm to them! So we should try and help.
Link to thisTraditional Asian Medicine. Yeah, right.
There should be a reward worth more than 10 rhino horns put on the heads of those poachers. See how they like being threatened with extinction.
Link to thisI agree completely. I think this is a horrible issue. Innocent animals are being killed or harmed for stupid reasons.
Link to this