Vietnam's rare Javan rhinoceros was declared extinct in that area after poachers killed the last remaining animal in the country for its horns, the World Wildlife Fund said.
“Vietnam must see this loss as another warning sign of its looming wave of species extinctions,” Dr. Barney Long, WWF’s Asian species expert, said in a statement. “The single most important action that is needed to save remaining threatened species like tigers and elephants is protection.”
The country had been struggling to keep the population alive amid widespread poaching that the WWF said was the cause of many Asian rhino species being brought to the "brink of extinction."
The WWF said people in certain parts of Asia believe the horns, when ground down and dissolved in boiling water, help treat typhoid fever or even cancer, the WWF said, noting that there has been no scientific proof of that.
The group said trying to bring the species back into the area won't work.
“Reintroduction of the rhinoceros to Vietnam is not economically or practically feasible," WWF’s Asian Elephant and Rhino Program Coordinator Dr. Christy Williams said. "It is gone from Vietnam forever."
So now, the Javan rhino only exists in one area in the world, according to the WWF.
The Javan rhinoceros is in danger of becoming extinct.
The group reported that there is one population of less than 50 animals in the Ujung Kulon National Park in Java, Indonesia. Now, workers will turn their attention there, working with anti-poaching patrols to hopefully keep the species from going extinct.
“For the Javan rhino, we now have to focus entirely on one site in Indonesia where strengthened protection is needed along with fast-tracking the proposed translocation and habitat management,” Long said.
You would think those of faith in a creator god would want to protect god's creations. For the vast majority, you would think wrong.
People act like extinction never happens and its all man's fault. This is part of life, part of nature. Some species will die out. Always have, always will, including us some day.
Earth has survived for eons and will continue to survive. It won't be with the species here now, but new ones will evolve. Hopefully, it won't include human beings. By the time we reach 15 billion population, we will be slaughtering each other to extinction.
Hopefully wont include humans? How about hopefully we learn from our mistakes by then!
Too bad they can't find out who killed the rhino and extinct them. Apparently the killers didn't see Star Trek 4 or care.
Maybe we should start poaching poachers.
I'm on board...
We can't. That would be a Hate Crime©
Thank you. I was just thinking the same thing. Fight fire with fire.
They do in the parks in South Africa – dare you to shoot a gun around a rhino. It ain't pretty...
To those talked about the Asian: do you still remember the Native Indian in American?
You mean Native Americans?
Hey |ll|lll|llll|||ll|:
The God of the Bible and Jesus are not mythological characters.
Jesus was a real person. His ollowers believed (and continue to believe) that he is the son of God, Whether you accept this, you cannot deny that he lived and was crucified by the Romans..
The God of the Bible is never described in the terms of mythology. He has no parents and no beginning. The gods of mythology were nature gods and existed in anad derived their life from nature. This was never said of the God of the Bible.
I suggest you think before you write or speak. Better yet, I suggest you do your homework and be silent. This will conceal your ignorance and stupidity.
Yes, many Native Americans live in the same area as me. I'm really not sure what your point is...
unfortunately yes. are you guy still paying them off like Canada pays theirs?
@boooner – yes we are
@Barry G – Wow...that was random. uhh, thanks Barry, i guess
@BarryG. I suggest it is you who actually figures out what you are talking about before opening your mouth and inserting your foot in it.
"In the academic field of folkloristics, a myth is defined as a sacred narrative explaining how the world and humankind came to be in their present form."
That is a pretty accurate description of the Bible. It says nothing about if certain characters in the narrative have particles of truth that are used or not. Try again genius.
I wonder where Barry G. got the idea to talk about God and the Bible when the subject was Asian Rhinos. I missed something...
Still, Barry needs to realize that the Bible was a creation of men who compromised and edited to please the various religious and political powers of the time. It's filled with contridictions. The story of Jesus is extremely similar to the Egyptian myth of the god Horus – too similar to be coincidental. Most non-Christians don't really care if you choose to accept the stories without a shred of actual proof. You call it faith – I call it blind faith. Just don't assume that everybody shares your viewpoint and somehow your version of reality trumps the rights of others.
The Vietnamese Government should be embarrassed and ashamed, and those whose purchases supported and fueled this poaching trade should be deeply ashamed of themselves.
The poachers are a disgrace to the human race, although they probably have no conscience, like the animals they hunted to extinction.
The civilized world is ashamed of you.
Vietnam War had killed 90% if it population. Thanks to you American
It so sad that there are people still so backwards that they believe animal horns have "magical" powers.
It's not that hard to believe. Look at how many people believe in Jesus and the bible and all that other mythology.
What are you talking about? In America 85% of the population believes in a magical sky person and his zombie son that will magically make them live forever. I'd say that takes the cake over rhino horns. At least rhino horns are real in the first place even if they don't have any powers.
Yeah don't they know that only unicorn horns contain magical powers. JOKE
Should I let my family go hungry or shall I kill this animal and sell its horn to rich a Chinese merchant and buy a farm and never be hungry again! When you are very poor....What would anyman do, save the family or a wild beast?
There isn't much that we have learned from our past. We are in the habit of picking up bad habits that perpetuates in our lives...consumption at any cost...
These majestic animals are more important than any low income jungle dwelling rice raising piece of human garbage. That is a seriously stupid way to make a comparison. The last of a species or 1 of the 7 million on earth (and 1 of the lower on the human scale at that).
Correction* 1 of the 7 BILLION!
So you know the specifics of this case, or are you just making excuses for criminals?
did you even read the story? The rhino was killed for it's horn, not the meat on it's body.
@ jeremy – did he say he would kill the animal to feed his family its' meat? No, but he could use the money from the sale of the horn to buy food. Try reading that one again.
And the world is a smaller place for it. And to all the idiot cavemen on this forum attempting to mimic intelligent speech, wouldn't it be nice if some alien poached the last human?
Those predator missiles are bad-a**.
Hey perhaps somebody should go over to Vietnam and kill all the humans over there and slaughter them for no reason.
We did once!
That already happened, it was called the Vietnam war.
Sarcasm isn't for everyone. : )
i hope the WWF is successful in safeguarding the last little pocket of these rhinos, Poacers shold be shot dead on sight.
I agree 100%!
While it's a noble and good cause, I suspect that the species is no longer genetically viable. Such an isolated population is probably already inbred.
It's so uncool to care about anything, empathize for anyone or lift a finger to help in times of need because it takes a bit of courage and that is seemingly going extinct too.
After 12 years in social services and law enforcement; I'VE DECIDED THAT PEOPLE AREN'T WORTH HELPING. Unlike humans, animals provide unconditional love and a higher quality of life.
Sounds like you have made the perfect career choice. : )
Wait 'right choice'... didn't we try that already?