Rare rhinos disappearing in Nepal (BBC)

[eppur_se_muova]

By Sushil Sharma
BBC News, Kathmandu

Dozens of rare one-horned rhinos have gone missing in south-western Nepal in recent years, say conservationists.

A recent census carried out at a national park in Bardiya suggested there were only 26 rhinos left. The number stood at 83 four years ago.

Rhinos have also dwindled in Chitwan park where the population has fallen to 405 from more than 500 in 2000.

Poachers are suspected to have killed the animal whose horn is sought after for its alleged aphrodisiac qualities.

Some reports have suggested that some rhinos may have moved across the borders to India, but a senior conservation official, Phanindra Kharel, has ruled that out.
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more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6226939.stm

[phantom power]

1. Has anybody else had the thought...

that climate change (and the resulting human chaos) will be the final nail in the coffin for our endangered species? Or is it just me? To wit, my intuition is that we'll probably lose all our endangered species in our lifetimes, along with probably a lot of others that don't happen to be endangered yet.

I suppose the new biosphere may be good news for a few endangered species, just by dumb luck. But to a first approximation, it's curtains for all of them.

[Dean Martin]

2. final nail for all of us, ultimately

I fear climate change ultimately will be the final nail in the coffin for all of us, not just endangered species.