U.S. wildlife group says Sumatran rhinos endangered
U.S. wildlife group says Sumatran rhinos endangered
WASHINGTON (UPI): An environmental protection group said last month the Asian demand for rhino horn has made Sumatran rhinos the most endangered among the species, but another conservation group called for more research.
The World Wide Fund For Nature said the market for powdered rhino horn, which is considered a treatment for everything from nosebleeds to impotence in Korea, China and Taiwan, has decimated the Javan rhino population and will soon do the same to the Sumatran species.
Fund spokeswoman Dana West said Sumatran rhinos "are easier to get since there are less of the Javan," making them a favorite of poachers. The group says the Sumatran population has been reduced by 50 percent since 1984.
However, the Wildlife Conservation Society in New York is spending US$120,000 on a three-year rhino census beginning in May because it says it is difficult to get an accurate count of the population.
John Payne, the conservation society's Asian expert, said his group had reached agreements with Laos and Burma to search for Sumatran rhinos.
"Despite the large numbers of workshops, conferences and treaties, there are no reliable numbers for Asian rhinos," he said. "Most surveys have relied on indirect evidence such as tracks and scat (manure)."
Another reason Asian rhinos are climbing to the top of the endangered list is "Asian species are called fire horns, African species are called water horns," said Dorene Bolze, policy analyst for the Wildlife Conservation Society.
"The Sumatran rhino has the smallest horns, but it's considered much more potent."
Last September, the Interior Department, armed with an international treaty, threatened China and Taiwan with sanctions unless they made definite moves to curb their black markets for rhino horn.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, a group based in Switzerland, says there are 100 Javan and 500 Sumatran rhinos, making them the smallest species groups.
"Although the numbers of the Javan rhino are lower, the Sumatran rhino with its low numbers and high rate of decline makes it more endangered," the union's rhino expert, Thomas Foose, said in a statement.