Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus

Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus

SUBSPECIES OF

Kingdom
Phylum
Subphylum
Class
Genus
SPECIES
Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus

The Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus ) also known as the Indo-Chinese Javan Rhino is a possibly extinct subspecies of the Javan rhinoceros that formerly lived in Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Malaysia, and may still survive in Vietnam. The subspecific term annamiticus derives from the Annamite name of the Indochinese Mountains in Indochina, part of the historical distribution of the subspecies.

Geography

Population

Population threats

As with many other species, the two main factors in the decline of the Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros populations has been loss of habitat combined with over-hunting. Poaching for horns, a problem that affects all rhino species. The horns have been a traded commodity for more than 2,000 years in China, where they are believed to have healing properties. Because the Vietnamese Javan rhinoceros's final range encompassed an area of human poverty, it is difficult to convince local people not to kill an animal that could be sold for an enormous sum of money.

Conservation

In 2006, a single population, estimated at fewer than 12 remaining rhinos, lived in an area of seasonal tropical forest of Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam. The last known individual of the population was shot by a poacher in 2010, and some conservation groups believe that the subspecies is extinct.

References

1. Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus Wikipedia article - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_sondaicus_annamiticus

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