The forest of Cat Tien National Park is lush and green. It is full of life. But it is missing its most important giant.
In April 2010, park rangers made a discovery that broke the hearts of conservationists everywhere. They found the body of a rhinoceros. It was not just any rhino. It was the very last Javan Rhino in Vietnam.
This majestic animal did not die of old age. It did not die peacefully. It was shot in the leg by poachers. Its horn had been hacked off. The animal likely suffered for months from the infection before it finally collapsed.
With that single bullet, an entire subspecies, Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus, vanished from the face of the earth.
The Miracle That Didn't Last
The story of this rhino is even more tragic when you look at history. For years, experts believed the Javan Rhino was already extinct in Vietnam. The wars and conflicts of the 20th century had surely wiped them out.
Then, a miracle happened.
In 1988, a hunter from the Stieng tribe shot a rhino in the Cat Tien area. Scientists were shocked. They realized a small, secret population had survived the war. It was a second chance. The world celebrated. We thought we could save them.
But we were wrong.
A Population of One
Between 2009 and 2010, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) conducted a desperate survey. They used specially trained dogs to sniff out rhino dung in the dense jungle. They collected 22 samples.
They hoped to find a breeding family. They hoped to find a future.
Genetic analysis revealed the crushing truth. All 22 samples belonged to the same individual. There was no herd. There was no family. There was just one lonely female walking the forest floor.
When poachers killed her in 2010, they didn't just kill an animal. They killed the hope of an entire species on the Asian mainland.
The Lesson for Indonesia
The extinction of the Vietnamese Javan Rhino leaves us with a heavy burden. Today, the Javan Rhino exists in only one place on Earth.
Ujung Kulon National Park. Indonesia.
The 70 or so rhinos in Ujung Kulon are the last survivors. They are the only ones left of a species that once roamed from India to Southeast Asia. If a tsunami hits Ujung Kulon, or if a disease breaks out, they will disappear forever. Just like their cousins in Vietnam.
The tragedy in Vietnam is a warning. It is a "wow" moment, but a painful one. It reminds us that second chances are rare. And sometimes, they are the last chance we get.
