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.