Rhino poached to extinction in Vietnam

[tex-wyo-dem]

IOL, October 21, 2011

Rhino poached to extinction in Vietnam

By Sapa-AFP

Hanoi - A critically endangered species of rhino has been poached to extinction in Vietnam, wildlife groups said Tuesday after the country's last Javan rhino was found dead with its horn hacked off.

The Javan rhinoceros was pronounced extinct in Vietnam by WWF and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) after all dung samples in a 2009 and 2010 survey at Cat Tien National Park - the only known habitat - were confirmed to have been from the animal.

“The last Javan rhino in Vietnam has gone,” said Tran Thi Minh Hien, WWF Vietnam country director. “Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”

In a new report, WWF suggests poaching was the likely cause of death for the rhino, which was found in April 2010 with a bullet in its leg and its horn removed in the national park in southern Vietnam, around 160 kilometres from Ho Chi Minh City.

<more: http://www.biologicaldiversity.org/news/center/articles/2011/iol-10-27-2011.html>

:( - another victim of "tradional Asian medicine" :mad: