... five to go
The Rhinoceros sonda'icus annami-ticus, a rare and threatened sub-species of Javan rhinos unique to Vietnam, are facing certain extinc-tion. A recently-conducted census of the animals' footprints suggests that their population in Vietnam is down to the last five . "They can survive for only two or three more years unless action is taken," says Nico van Strien, a Dutch zoologist working for the International Rhinoceros Foundation, which organised the census in Vietnam. The foundation blames dwindling habitats in the country as the princi-pal cause for this drastic decline in rhino population. In 1990, there were about 50,000 hectares (ha) of rhino habitat in Vietnam's Cat Loc wildlife reserve. Despite its status as a wildlife reserve, farmers from nearby villages are encroaching. Today, there are only 6,000 ha suit-able of rhinos. The animals face a severe threat from poachers as well. The country's Forest Protection Department and the World Wide Fund for Nature have planned to beef up the number of anti-poaching patrols in Cat Loc. But if that does not prove to be of significant success, the endan-gered animals may have to be relocated to the nearby Cat Tien national park, which has larger and better-forested areas.
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