First photos taken of rare Javan rhino in Vietnam
HANOI -
Automatic cameras have taken the
first photographs of a critically
endangered rhinoceros in Vietnam,
the World Wide Fund for Nature
said on Thursday.
The WWF said only five to eight of
the one-horned rhinos, a sub-species
of the Javan rhinoceros, were
thought to survive in Vietnam,
making it probably Asia's rarest
mammal.
All the rhinos roamed in the Cat Tien
National Park in Vietnam's southern
central highlands, it said in a
statement.
So little is known about the mammals
that researchers are not sure whether
the seven photographs taken are of
the same Javan rhino, or if it is male
or female.
Scientists have never seen a live
Javan rhino in Vietnam, relying on
droppings, footprints and sightings by
local villagers to document
information on the mammals.
``This is one of the most exciting
events in the natural history of
Vietnam, and this exercise may even
prove that there are more than eight
rhinos surviving in the area,'' Cat Tien
park director Tran Van Mui said in
the statement.
Despite intensive bombing during the
Vietnam War, parts of the country
have been called a ``Lost World''
because they boast such a rich
biodiversity.
In 1992, scientists discovered the
Sao La, a deer-like animal with long
swept back horns. Two years later a
giant muntjac, another deer-like
mammal, was identified.
But a lucrative trade persists in wild
and endangered animals, most of
which go to China for eating or use in
traditional medicine and other
health-related concoctions.
Indeed, some scientists considered
the Javan rhino in Vietnam extinct
until a hunter was caught in 1989
trying to sell the skin and horn from
one of the mammals.
The WWF statement said the
pictures were taken in May during a
survey by the WWF and the Cat
Tien National Park as part of a $6
million conservation project in the
park.
Automatic cameras were set up in
the park and took pictures when
objects disturbed a laser beam
connected to the camera.
Between 50-60 Javan rhinos are
believed to exist in Indonesia's Ujung
Kulon National Part in West Java,
the WWF added.
Reuters - July 15, 1999.
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