Western Black Rhino Officially Declared Extinct; White Rhino And Javan Rhino Next? ‘Teetering On The Brink Of Extinction,’ Says Conservation Group

The western black rhino has been declared officially extinct by a conservation group. Are the white rhino and Javan rhino next to be officially declared extinct?

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) said that the western black rhino was last seen in 2006, CNN reported.

The IUCN also added that Africa's northern white rhino is "teetering on the brink of extinction" and Asia's Javan rhino is "making its last stand" due to continued poaching, lack of conservation, and human encroachment, The Epoch Times reports.

"Well-organized and well-funded crime syndicates are continuing to feed the growing black market with rhino horn," Mike Knight, Chairman of the IUCN SSC African Rhino Specialist Group, said in the statement.

"In the case of the western black rhino and the northern white rhino the situation could have had very different results if the suggested conservation measures had been implemented," Simon Stuart, chair of the IUCN species survival commission said in a statement.

"These measures must be strengthened now, specifically managing habitats in order to improve performance, preventing other rhinos from fading into extinction," Stuart added, CNN reports.

However, he noted that conservation efforts helped the population of southern white rhinos; there were less than 100 in the 19th century but there are now more than 20,000 today, The Epoch Times reports.

Roughly 70,000 black rhinos lived in the wild in 1960. An estimated 4,000 remain today, according to TIME magazine.

"We have the knowledge that conservation works if executed in a timely manner, yet, without strong political will in combination with targeted efforts and resources, the wonders of nature and the services it provides can be lost forever," Jane Smart, director of IUCN's global species program said in a statement, CNN reports.