Lessons learned from the loss of a flagship: The extinction of the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus from Vietnam

The extinction of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) from Vietnam in 2010 was a conservation tragedy. Hunting has been the primary driver of the catastrophic decline of Javan rhinoceros throughout its range. The last individual from Vietnam was poached in 2010. To help avert repeating such outcomes with similarly imperiled species, this case study presents a state-pressure-response framework, considering the rhinoceros’s historical and current status, the pressures it faced, and the adequacy of the conservation response. The failure at the site level to protect the rhinoceros population ultimately resulted in its demise. Low political will to take decisions required to recover the species and inadequate focus from the conservation and donor community further contributed to the subspecies’s extinction, in part due to a lack of knowledge on population status. Lessons from this example should inform the conservation of other very threatened large vertebrates, particularly in Southeast Asia.