VietNamNet Bridge – While foreign and Vietnamese organizations still argue about whether one-horn rhino is extinct in Vietnam, scientists have called on to conduct further investigation to find out the truth.
Vietnam hopes one-horn rhinos still exist
Saigon Tiep Thi’s reporters met the representatives of some organizations to
clarify the issue.
WWF: Java rhinos are extinct in Vietnam
An officer of WWF Vietnam said that before making the conclusion that Java rhino
is extinct in Vietnam, WWF once conducted a survey in 2009-2010 on the area
where there are signs of rhinos existing. It then took WWF a long more time to
consult with international and domestic experts before coming to such a
conclusion. All that steps last nearly one year. All the conclusions shown in
the report were made only after thorough consideration and consultation with
many experts.
Especially, WWF also met the representatives of state agencies to discuss and
reached a consensus about the issue before a meeting was held to make public the
information.
The 2011 report by WWF about the extinction of Java rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
shows that the surveyed area was Cat Loc, a part of the Cat Tien National Park
in Lam Dong province, which is considered the last mainland in Asia where people
can find the signs of the existing of Java rhinos.
The survey was conducted in the dry season, implemented in three phases,
commencing on October 27, 2009, and finishing on April 8, 2010. The surveyed
team also expanded the searching area in order not to miss out any signs of
rhinos. However, they could not find any other signs of Java rhinos.
Dr Dang Huy Huynh, Deputy Chair of the Vietnam Association for Conversation
of Nature and the Environment: It’s necessary to take further investigation
Though WWF has concluded that rhino is extinct in Vietnam, we still can take
further investigation. As far as I know, the information we have is that two
rhinos died, one of them died more than 10 years ago and we got its skeleton,
and the other died in 2010. Where are other rhino individuals, then?
Why do you think that rhinos still exist in Vietnam?
We cannot make a conclusion until we make a thorough investigation to find out
the truth. I think that the investigation needs to be carried out in a larger
area. I know WWF took investigation on an area of 10,000 hectares. But the park
covers an area of 27,000 hectares.
Also, when the habitat changes, animals tend to leave for other places and they
will return when everything gets okay for them.
Experts once said that there were 3-5 rhinos. International and Vietnamese
scientists found small size footprints as well, which could be the footprints of
small rhinos. Therefore, I think that if only two rhinos are dead, others still
exist. If the other rhinos have also been shot dead, their death will be known
by local residents who regularly go to the forest. It was local residents, who
discovered the death of the rhino recently. In 2003-3004, scientists still
affirmed that there were 3-5 rhinos.
Vietnam’s forests are dense and it is very difficult to find the way in the
forest. I think rhinos may hide themselves in some places.
Has the State had any program on researching and conserving rhinos?
Not yet, and this is the reason why I have proposed to set up a program on
preserving rhinos. WWF has announced the extinction of rhinos, while the state
management agencies still keep quiet. Meanwhile, they should have expressed
their ideas in such a case.
Source: SGTT
