Vietnam's rhino horn obsession threatens the species

HANOI, Vietnam - Nguyen Huong Giang loves to party but loathes hangovers, so she ends her whiskey benders by tossing back shots of rhino horn ground with water on a special ceramic plate.

Her father gave her the 10-centimetre brown horn as a gift, claiming it cures everything from headaches to cancer. Vietnam has become so obsessed with the fingernail-like substance that it now sells for more than cocaine.

Experts say Vietnam's surging demand is threatening to wipe out the world's remaining rhinoceros populations, which recovered from the brink of extinction after the 1970s thanks to conservation campaigns.

Illegal killings in Africa hit the highest recorded level in 2011 and are expected to worsen this year.

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  In this Nov. 15, 2011 file photo, customs officers stand guard near seized rhino horns at the Hong Kong Customs and Excise Department in Hong Kong when Hong Kong Customs seized a total of 33 unmanifested rhino horns, 758 ivory chopsticks and 127 ivory bracelets, worth about HK$17 million ($2.23 million), inside a container shipped to Hong Kong from Cape Town, South Africa. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)