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Pregnant rare Sumatran rhino spotted in Borneo

April 20, 2010 By

By RUBEN SARIO, The Star, 19 April 2010

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife experts here remain hopeful about the future of the highly endangered Sumatran rhino following a rare picture of a 20-year-old female that is believed to be pregnant. The picture of the female rhino was captured by remote camera trap devices set up jointly by the Sabah Wildlife Department and WWF-Malaysia. The picture was considered rare as there were estimated to be less than 30 rhinos left on the entire island of Borneo.

The pregnant rhino captured on remote camera trap by WWF Malaysia outside Tabin Wildlife Reserve

International Rhino expert Dr. Terri Roth said she was hoping that the female rhino was indeed pregnant.

“There are so few Sumatran rhinos left in the world that each calf represents a lifeline for the species, she said here Tuesday.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the department was working with WWF-Malaysia and the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) to finalise the Rhino Action Plan that which would be expected to be ready for full implementation by August this year.  The plan would address the conservation plans of the viable population including isolated rhinos, Dr Laurentius added. He said his department intended to take a “different” approach in managing the viable but isolated rhino population in Sabah.

Habitat protection and enforcement have been recognised as the main strategy in order to ensure the survival of the viable rhino population in forest reserves, while a breeding programme has been identified as the key strategy in order to address the conservation plan for the isolated rhinos, Dr Laurentius added.

The rhino breeding programme is currently supported by Sime Darby, the Malaysian federal government and WWF-Malaysia. The future of rhinos in Borneo now depends on how seriously the enforcement and security work in the forest reserves can be implemented and coordinated, said Raymond Alfred, Head of the Borneo Species Programme, WWF-Malaysia. The monitoring and survey work in the central forest of Sabah is currently supported by HONDA Malaysia, WWF-Netherlands, WWF-Germany and USFWS since 2005.

WWF-Malaysia is working with the department and the Sabah Forestry Department to look into reinforcing the security of the forest reserves that are the key habitats for the animals. Alfred noted that that data from an ongoing rhino monitoring and survey programme showed that the animals’ home range was affected by oil palm plantation expansion near the state’s coastal areas. The research also indicated that sustainable logging activities had minimal impact on the rhino population while conversion of forests especially those located adjacent to key rhino habitat into other mono-crop plantations such as oil palm would further worsen the fragmentation of the rhino population.

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New vehicles make all the difference

April 8, 2010 By

3rd March 2010

Sime Darby Auto Connection Sdn Bhd Branch Manager, Chris Mojingol (third from left) handing over the three vehicles to Dr Abdul Hamid (second left), with BORA Executive Director Dr Junaidi Payne (far left) and BORA Administration Officer Lonia Adam (second right).

A big boost to BORA’s work was made today when three 4WD vehicles were purchased using the RM5 million fund from Sime Darby Foundation, the main funding organization for the current work on the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary.

Chairman of the BORA Board of Directors, Dr Abdul Hamid, received the Ford Ranger vehicles at the Institute of Tropical Biology and Conservation at Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu on 3rd March, 2010.

One of the vehicles in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, with Sabah Wildlife Department senior ranger Mr Herman Stawin (right) and BORA Rhino Protection Unit ranger Augustine David.

Until now BORA staff in the field had to rely on one aging 4WD vehicle to carry out all their activities so the addition of the new Ford Rangers will be a huge boost.

An added bonus was getting tax exemption for the three vehicles from the Malaysian government, for which BORA is extremely grateful.

Said Dr Junaidi Payne “Our work is largely field based. I cannot emphasise enough the need for this type of vehicle.”

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Rhino Rescue luncheon secures funds for BORA

February 18, 2010 By

March 17 2009 saw LEAP helping to organise another groundbreaking conservation fundraising event with its partner organisation, BORA.

A ‘RHINO RESCUE LUNCH’ was held at a leading hotel in Kota Kinabalu. The Guest of Honour was the Sabah Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment, Datuk Masidi Manjun and over 70 people participated, with representatives from the government, NGO and private sectors, as well as concerned individuals.

Generous donors gather for a photo at the March 2009 Rhino Rescue Lunch

An amazing RM530,000 (about USD$150,000) was raised through a novel and interactive pledge-making process where pieces of a giant jigsaw of a rhino picture were ‘bought’ by donors. The event helped to bring the plight of the Bornean rhino to a much wider audience and resulted in operational funds being secured for the BORA Rhino Protection Unit to function for another year.

Click on a photo to view some of the highlights of the Lunch.

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Sumatran Rhino Rescued

January 28, 2010 By
Tam secure in the protection of the Tabin Wildlife Reserve

Historic Press Release from Sabah Wildlife Department

Kota Kinabalu, 23rd August, 2008: The Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) successfully completed a two week long rescue operation of a single male from the critically endangered Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni) subspecies.

The Sumatran Rhinoceros, recognised as being on the brink of extinction, was found wandering at an oil palm plantation neighbouring the forest on the East Coast of Sabah on the 5th of August.

“It was obvious that the rhino was injured to some degree as it left its forest which had difficult terrain to come out on the flat terrain of the oil palm plantation,” explained Dr. Senthilvel Nathan, Chief Field Veterinarian of the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD).

Senthilvel led the rescue operation to translocate the rhino safely out of the palm oil plantation and settle it in the rhino paddock at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve (TWR) located east of Lahad Datu.

“It was a delicate operation as we had to make sure that the rhino was not stressed by having human’s so close to it. When we first got there, the rhino showed signs of aggression and made mock chargers at us but we kept our distance and left leaves and fruits for it to eat as the oil palm environment is not suitable for wildlife,” explained Senthilvel.

For 10 days, a team of SWD Ranger’s and veterinarians stayed close to rhino at the plantation to habituate their presence to it before getting close enough to check on its condition and to prepare it for its translocation.

“We had to make sure it was getting enough water and food and was healthy because moving wildlife can be very stressful for them,” said Senthivel.

Also on the ground providing support was Sabah based Non Government Organisation (NGO) SOS Rhino Borneo and international NGO WWF-Malaysia.

WWF-Malaysia believes that the rescued rhino is also the same rhino that was captured on their camera and video trap in February of 2007 as part of their rhino tracking efforts in the same area.

Working together, the group of 24 undertook the task to monitor the rhino for 24 hours a day and the delicate operation to move the rhino from the plantation to its new home.

“The morning we moved the rhino, myself and Veterinarian Dr. Roza Sipagkui made an assessment to see if he was healthy enough for the four hour journey by road and barge to Tabin,” said Senthivel.

Remarkably their was no need to sedate the rhino as he was easily coaxed into the crate with fresh leaves and fruit.

“After a few attempts to coax the rhino into the crate, it finally walked in effortlessly and without the need for any type of sedation,” according to Senthivel.

Roza rode in the back of the truck with the rhino in the crate for the journey monitoring the rhino closely for any signs of stress and aggression.

“We had sedatives on standby the entire time but as the rhino remained remarkably calm we did not use it all which was also good for the rhino,” explained Senthivel.

According to SWD Director, the rhino has been translocated to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve as it has been designated as the new Bornean Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary.

“The rescue of this adult male rhino in his prime is timely as the Department is addressing the rhino population issue by launching a semi-captive rhino breeding programme based in Tabin,” shared SWD Director, Laurentius Ambu.

The decision to carry out a rhino breeding programme in semi-captivity was made by the State Rhino Task Force (SRTF) which was formed following the Fourth Sumatran Rhino Conservation Workshop held in July last year.

“At that Workshop, Datuk Masidi Manjun made a firm commitment of the State Government to address the issue of the rapidly dwindling number of rhino and this Task Force was established due to his commitment in saving the rhinos,” said Laurentius.

Datuk Masidi Manjun, the Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment had stated that, every possible action gear toward the preservation of the rhinoceros and propagation of their population had to be taken.

To ensure the survival of the species, Masidi said people need to be educated to look at the rhinoceros as a national treasure.

“It is an uphill battle. But I hope everyone including scientists and NGOs will come together and work for the conservation of the rhinos which we all should consider our natural heritage,” said Masidi, adding that that the cooperation of plantation owners and the hunters was also imperative.

Laurentius also commended the quick action of the Unico Estate General Manager, Chew Beng Hock and Temenggong Estate Manager, Gucharan Singh for immediately informing and assisting the Department in transporting the rhino.

“The fact that the rhino was not harmed and that the Department was informed immediately tells us two things. First, that people are aware that the rhino is a totally protected species and that if anyone had harmed him, it would be a mandatory jail time for them and secondly they recognise how it is a really unique and special animal that needs to be saved,” said Laurentius.

“We must do everything we possible can to save the remaining population from the brink of extinction. The Rhino Task Force is working in collaboration with worldwide rhino experts to carry out this semi-captive breeding programme,” explained Laurentius who’s Department chairs the Task Force with member being from the Sabah Forestry Department and NGOs, SOS Rhino Borneo and WWF-Malaysia.

The State Government is currently working to raise the estimated RM20 million needed to set-up the fully fenced and protected area which could be up to 1000 hectares in size.

“It is a huge undertaking financially, but we must do this because this is most likely our last chance to save this Sumatran Rhino sub-species which is only found here from going extinct,” said Laurentius.

It is estimated that only 30 individuals of this Sumatran Rhino sub-species remain in the wildlife in Sabah.

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Cincinnati Zoo Mourns Death of Sumatran Rhino

September 6, 2009 By
Emi and Harapan at the Cincinnati Zoo

CINCINNATI, OH (September 6, 2009) – “Emi”, the world’s most famous endangered Sumatran rhino, passed away yesterday morning at the age of 21 at her home at the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. The female Sumatran rhino lived at the Cincinnati Zoo for the past 14 years and produced three calves, Andalas (2001), Suci (2004) and Harapan (2007). In 2001, years of breakthrough research by scientists at the Zoo’s Lindner Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Wildlife (CREW) resulted in the first captive birth of a Sumatran rhino since the 19th century.

“No animal has been more beloved than Emi in the 134 year history of the Cincinnati Zoo,” said Thane Maynard, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. “She is the most famous rhino in the world and has led the way in the effort to establish a successful captive breeding program for this critically endangered animal. My fondest hope is that we now build on Emi’s legacy and increase our efforts tenfold to continue the global effort to save the Sumatran rhino.”

In March, the Zoo’s Animal Care Staff first noticed that Emi’s appetite was inconsistent; she had less energy and had lost some weight. Concerned Zoo Veterinarians performed a complete physical exam with blood work in early April. Her examination was unremarkable, but blood work indicated some subtle changes in her liver function. Veterinary staff continued to conduct a battery of diagnostic tests and consulted with numerous rhino experts worldwide in an attempt to determine a cause for her clinical signs. In May, Emi’s attitude improved, her appetite picked up, and she gained some weight back. However, overall, her appetite and attitude had been inconsistent and despite various treatments administered, her condition continued to deteriorate. On the day of her death a thorough post mortem exam was performed. Tissue samples will be submitted to a veterinary pathologist to help determine a cause of death.

“It is always devastating when an animal reaches the end of its life, especially those that are so special, but Emi could not have been in better hands all these years,” said Dr. Terri Roth, Director of the Cincinnati Zoo’s CREW. Our Veterinary staff has been working tirelessly for months to identify the source of Emi’s illness, and our keeper staff has done everything possible to support Emi on a daily basis during our struggle to save this rhino.”

A decade ago, little was known about caring for the critically endangered Sumatran rhinos in captivity, let alone their mating habits and reproductive cycles. But Cincinnati Zoo staff, led by Dr. Terri Roth, have relied on the use of ultrasound, close monitoring of hormone levels and years of patient observation and trial-and-error to learn how to successfully breed the Sumatran rhinos.

Emi’s first calf, Andalas, was the first Sumatran rhino bred and born in captivity in 112 years.

Repeating that success with the birth of a second calf, Suci, in 2004, was absolutely essential to validate the scientific methods developed at the Cincinnati Zoo and for the continued progress of the captive breeding program. In 2007, Emi gave birth to an unprecedented third calf, Harapan, again raising hopes among conservationists that the captive breeding could play an important role in the species’ recovery.

Andalas, now almost 8 years of age, was transported to the Way Kambas Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia in 2007 to take part in an international breeding program. The Sanctuary has been in close consultation with the Cincinnati Zoo. The methodology that has proven successful at the Cincinnati Zoo is being adapted to the conditions at the Sanctuary. With the arrival of Andalas, the options for reproduction have increased dramatically and the Sanctuary is poised for success. Rhino experts are hopeful that he will successfully breed with the females at the Sanctuary to achieve pregnancies and offspring.

The Cincinnati Zoo is the only place in the world to successfully breed this critically endangered species in captivity. Two out of the three Sumatran rhinos living in the United States, five-year-old Suci and her father, Ipuh, reside at the Cincinnati Zoo. Harapan moved to the White Oak Conservation Center in Yulee, Florida in 2008. Emi and Ipuh were both sent to the U.S. by the Indonesian government as part of a cooperative agreement developed between Indonesia and four U.S. zoos (Cincinnati, Bronx, Los Angeles and San Diego).

Considered the most endangered of all rhino species and perhaps the most endangered mammal species on earth, it is estimated that at least 60 percent of the Sumatran rhino population has been lost in the last two decades. The primary cause is conversion of rhino habitat for agriculture, even in some national parks, and poaching for its horn which some Asian cultures believe contains medicinal properties. Today, there are only nine Sumatran rhinos living in captivity worldwide and fewer than 200 animals exist in isolated pockets of Sabah, Malaysia and the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. Sumatran rhinos can live 35-40 years.

The Cincinnati Zoo is working closely with the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry, the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, the IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group and the International Rhino Foundation, to protect this species in the wild, and also propagate Sumatran rhinos in captivity. Both approaches will be necessary to secure the future of this critically endangered species for future generations.

In Loving Memory of Emi: A dedication to Emi written by Dr Terri Roth of the Cincinnati Zoo

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Reprieve for rhinos

August 18, 2009 By

Isolated rhinos in fragmented Sabahan forests will be captured and placed in a new rhino sanctuary in a last bid to multiply their numbers.

Article by Michael Cheang, The Star, August 18 2009

AS you head into Tabin Wildlife Reserve, there is a massive tree that stands tall and proud beside the road. The tallest tree in the reserve, it seems to stand guard against the advancing hoard of oil palm trees across the road that also serves as the border between protected and developed land.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve is in need of such guardians, symbolic or otherwise. Located 48km from Lahat Datu in south-east Sabah and spanning 120,500ha of the Dent peninsula that forms the northern headland of Darvel Bay, it is one of the largest remaining protected wildlife reserves in the country; and crucially, the last major stronghold of the Bornean rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni).

Tam, a mature male found wandering in an oil palm estate a year ago, will be the first resident of a new rhino sanctuary in Sabah.

The Bornean rhino is a sub-species of the Asian two-horned rhinoceros, more commonly known as the Sumatran rhino. It is also the most endangered species in Malaysia, and will probably go extinct if there is no active human intervention, according to Junaidi Payne of WWF and Borneo Rhinoceros Alliance (Bora). Bora is a non-profit organisation and a joint effort between government and non-governmental groups that focus specifically on saving the rhino in Malaysia.

“In the past, rhinos were threatened by poaching, loss of habitat and so on. But now they are mostly threatened by the simple fact that there just aren’t enough of them around in one place anymore,” said Payne. “Tabin is the only place left in Malaysia where there is hope of saving the rhino because there are a few breeding individuals and we know the habitat is good because historically they were here.”

It is estimated that only 30 to 40 Bornean rhinos remain in Sabah, with the last survey in 2006 locating at least 13 individuals within Tabin. Consisting mostly of secondary regenerated forest (the area was heavily logged in the 1970s and 80s), Tabin has been a secure wildlife reserve for the past 25 years. It is categorised as a Class Seven forest reserve in Sabah – meaning its primary purpose is to conserve wildlife, and the forest cannot be logged anymore. It is also in no danger from being encroached upon by the surrounding oil palm estates.

Leafy lure: A Sabah Wildlife Department ranger providing leaves for the rhino at the oil palm plantation.

As such, it is only fitting that Tabin was chosen to be the site of a new (and some say, final) hope for the Bornean rhino – the 4,500ha Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary (BRS) where a small population of the animal will be left to roam free in the hope that they will mate and breed.

The initiative is jointly set up by Sime Darby Foundation and the Sabah Government. Foundation chairman Tun Musa Hitam and State Wildlife Department Director Datuk Laurentius Ambu signed an agreement on the initiative on June 30 at the Tabin Wildlife Resort located inside the reserve.

According to Musa, the project is part of Sime’s Big 9 campaign to protect nine endangered Malaysian animals – the Sumatran rhino, orang utan, hornbill, sun bear, banteng (wild cattle), clouded leopard, pygmy elephant, proboscis monkey and the Malayan tiger, all of which (with the exception of the tiger) can be found in Tabin. Apart from the rhino reserve in Tabin, the foundation has funded the Malaysian Nature Society conservation project on the plain-pouched hornbill in Belum-Temenggor forest in Perak.

“We are providing RM7.3mil, including RM5mil for the infrastructure, to build the 4,500ha sanctuary for the rhinos in Tabin,” Musa said, adding that the funding will continue for three years until 2012.

A bulk of the funding will go towards upgrading existing infrastructure like volunteers’ living quarters and roads, as well as encircling the sanctuary with an electrified fence, which will make it the first such project involving a large fenced up area in a tropical rainforest.

‘Tabin is the only place left in Malaysia where there is hope of saving the rhino,’ says Junaidi Payne.

The sanctuary is also unique in the sense that it is a “hands-off breeding programme.” Learning from the painful lessons of past rhino captive breeding programmes in Malaysia where most of the animals died in captivity, the rhinos in the Tabin sanctuary will be a confined area and it is hoped that nature will then take its course.

However, this does not mean that all the remaining rhinos in Sabah will be herded up into the area to breed. Payne said wild rhinos that are already within Tabin wildlife reserve would be left alone. What the sanctuary is setting out to do is to capture “doomed” rhinos in isolated forests all over Sabah, and put them in the sanctuary. .

“There are pockets of forests all over Sabah where individual rhinos are living with no hope of ever meeting a mate and they will never contribute to the species’ survival. The sanctuary aims to bring these so-called ‘doomed rhinos’ together in the hope that they might mate,” said Payne.

The sanctuary already has its first resident – a mature bull called Tam, who was found wandering around an oil palm plantation 48km from Tabin last August.

“We found Tam in an oil palm plantation, and monitored him for two weeks until it was apparent that he did not want to go back to the forest. No one really knows why. The feeling is that he was injured by a trap in the forest. Finally, the Wildlife Department decided to catch it and bring it here instead,” said Payne.

Tam was put in a 2,500ha fenced area where he is free to roam. There is also a makeshift paddock in the area where Tam is fed and where volunteers conduct medical check-ups on him. These are just temporary lodgings for Tam though. Once the sanctuary is ready (hopefully in a year’s time), he will be put there to mingle with the other rhinos to be captured.

“We are targeting to catch another four or five other rhinos, in the next few years,” said Payne.

He reckons that with funding from Sime for at least three years, the sanctuary has a chance to work. However, the success or failure of the initiative may not be known for at least 10 years or so.

“Even if we catch a small number of rhinos and they don’t breed within three or four years, it still doesn’t mean the project is not successful,” he emphasised.

While the main priority is saving the rhinos, the sanctuary initiative will also draw attention to the importance of protecting and preserving a wide array of biological resources within Tabin. These include trees and plants from primary and secondary forests, as well as a large number of animal species inhabiting the forest. Besides the rhino, it is also home to the pygmy elephant, tembadau, deer, orang utan and other primates, carnivores such as the honey bear and the rare clouded leopard, birds, reptiles, amphibians and different species of river fish.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve is home to many of Malaysia’s most endangered species, including the Bornean Pygmy Elephant

An aerial view of Tabin Wildlife Reserve

“Hopefully, the higher profile that the project brings will help elevate the status of Tabin to the level of iconic sites such as Sipadan Island, Danum Valley or Maliau Basin,” said Payne.

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A Plan to Bring Isolated Borneo Rhinos Together

August 18, 2009 By

Story by RHISHJA LARSON

Published on www.ecolocalizer.com, August 18th, 2009

Tam can roam in the knowledge that he is safe from poachers in the rhino sanctuary.

An initiative to transport lone Borneo rhinos to a secure central location – where they can interact with other rhinos – could mean hope for this extremely rare subspecies.

Tabin Wildlife Reserve located in Sabah, Malaysia is the last home of the Bornean rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni), a distinct subspecies of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis). It is estimated that fewer than 50 Bornean rhinos are still surviving in Sabah. Borneo rhinos are said to be even smaller than Sumatran rhinos, with some standing only three feet tall at the shoulder. Both species are covered with bristly hair that rubs down as they mature and create “tunnels” by crashing through the rainforest.
Sadly, some of these rhinos are living alone in fragmented pockets of forest, cut off from other rhino populations, where they have no hope of meeting another of their kind – and the isolation of these animals could lead to their extinction.

In a recent article in the Star (Malaysia), Junaidi Payne of WWF and Borneo Rhinoceros Alliance (Bora) says that these rhinos are likely to die out completely unless there is some active intervention.

In the past, rhinos were threatened by poaching, loss of habitat and so on. But now they are mostly threatened by the simple fact that there just aren’t enough of them around in one place anymore. Tabin is the only place left in Malaysia where there is hope of saving the rhino because there are a few breeding individuals and we know the habitat is good because historically they were here.

An intervention to save Borneo rhinos

Fortunately, some human intervention has arrived: Plans have been approved to create the 4,500ha Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary (BRS) within Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Individual rhinos will be brought in from their fragmented locations in hopes that roaming free together in the sanctuary will entice them to breed.

The Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary (BRS) is new hope for these small rhinos. The plan is not to round up every wild rhino in Sabah, but rather to locate the isolated rhinos and transport them to a central location where they can roam and interact naturally with other rhinos in the sanctuary.

This will be a “hands-off” breeding program, in contrast to a failed captive breeding program in Malaysia in which tragically, most of the rhinos died. By translocating these rhinos to the BRS, they are given a chance to contribute to the survival of the species – something they certainly cannot do alone.

As part of the initiative, the sanctuary will be encircled by an electric fence – the first project of its kind to include a large fenced area in a tropical rainforest.

The rhino sanctuary’s first resident

The Borneo Rhino Sanctuary even has its first resident – Tam, a male rhino found in a palm oil plantation last year. Because Tam did not want to return to the forest on his own, WWF’s Payne suspects the rhino had previously been injured by a trap set by poachers.

Tam is currently living in a fenced 2,500ha area until the sanctuary is ready. He receives regular medical check-ups from volunteers in a makeshift paddock within his temporary home.

Once the BRS is ready, Tam will be moved. The sanctuary is expected to be open in year. Wildlife experts are planning to capture four or five additional rhinos over the next few years, and introduce them to the sanctuary. It is not expected that the rhinos will begin breeding immediately, and it could be ten years before the success of the project can be determined.

Borneo rhinos in the future

The ultimate goal of the BRS is to ensure the long-term survival of these rhinos. Payne points out that without a conservation “intervention”, the Borneo rhino will become extinct in our lifetime.

The BRS is a joint initiative between the Sime Darby Foundation and the Sabah Government. The project is part of Sime’s Big 9 campaign to protect nine endangered Malaysian animals – the Sumatran rhino, orang utan, hornbill, sun bear, banteng (wild cattle), clouded leopard, pygmy elephant, proboscis monkey and the Malayan tiger, all of which (with the exception of the tiger) can be found in Tabin.

Here’s to the future success of the Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary!

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Sime Darby Foundation Plans Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah

June 30, 2009 By
BERNAMA June 30, 2009
LAHAD DATU, June 30 (Bernama) — The Sime Darby Foundation (SDF) and Sabah government will set up a sanctuary in the Tabin Forest Reserve for sumatran rhinos to protect the wildlife from extinction.

The Borneo Rhino Sanctuary will provide a safe refuge for the endangered Bornean rhino whose range is increasingly being encroached upon by commercial agriculture.

A 4,500-hectare area will be allocated for the project with the cost of providing the infrastructure including a fence around it being funded by SDF.

An agreement on the cooperation was signed at Tabin Wildlife Resort, about 48 kilometres from here, between the foundation and the state government Tuesday.

YSD was represented by its chairman Tun Musa Hitam while Sabah by State Wildlife Department Director Datuk Lawrentius Ambu. Present was Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

“We are providing RM7.3 million including RM5 million for the infrastructure in 4,500-hectare area to keep all sumatran rhinos found,” Musa said.

He said the plan to create the sanctuary was part of Sime Darby’s “Big 9″ campaign to protect nine endangered wild animals, namely sun bear, orang utan, pygmy elephant, bornean clouded leopard, sumatran rhino, malayan tiger, monyet belanda (long-nosed monkey), hornbill and banteng (species of wild cattle).

Masidi said that project would hopefully help sumatran rhino to breed since there was a fear that it would become extinct if no effective action was taken.

Based on studies, no sumatran rhino calf had been found over the past four to eight years and one was the reasons was that adult rhinos live in solitude.

“Our hope is to build a wildlife centre specially for rhinos and put the animal caught in the wild in the sanctuary. Hopefully, the meeting of rhinos will help them mate and breed,” he said.

According to statistics, 13 sumatran rhinos have been detected in Danum Valley and another 15 in the Tabin Forest Reserve.

– BERNAMA

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Single Male Rhino, 20, Seeks Mate to Save Species

December 26, 2008 By

26 Dec 2008, Associated Press

A male rhinoceros recently rescued on the edge of Borneo’s rain forest is expected to become the first participant of a Malaysian breeding program for his critically endangered ilk, a wildlife expert said Wednesday.

The roughly 20-year-old Borneo Sumatran rhino, nicknamed “Tam,” was found wandering in an oil palm plantation in August with an infected leg likely caused by a poacher trap.

Tam, whose species is known for its solitary nature, has been resettled in a wildlife reserve in Malaysia’s Sabah state, the last preserve of the Borneo Sumatran rhino – a subspecies of the bristly, snub-nosed Sumatran rhino.

Authorities hope to bring at least five male and female rhinos into the reserve over the next few years so that they can mate and produce offspring, said Junaidi Payne, the senior technical adviser for the World Wildlife Fund’s Malaysian Borneo chapter.

“Their numbers are so low that they might drift into extinction if no one does anything,” Payne told The Associated Press.

Experts cannot confirm how many Borneo Sumatran rhinos remain in the wild, but estimates range from 10 to 30 individuals, many of them isolated from others in their species.

Borneo Sumatran rhinos have rapidly vanished in recent decades as their habitat has been lost to logging, plantations and other development. Poachers have hunted them for their horns, which are used in traditional medicines.

The rhinos in Sabah’s 300,000-acre (120,000-hectare) reserve will probably be able to find each other through their scent and mate without human interference, Payne said.

“If they are not stressed out by people, the chances of success should be better,” he said.

Hope for the subspecies was boosted after Malaysian government officials and WWF experts found new evidence of them in the wild in May 2005. Rhino protection units have since launched patrols to deter poaching.

Conservationists have warned the rhinos could face extinction in the next 10 years.

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Rhinos in limbo

February 6, 2007 By

The Star, Tuesday February 6, 2007

Though big in size, rhinos are succumbing to pressures inflicted by a much smaller creature – man.

Story by TAN CHENG LI

HE was Sabah’s last hope to boost the dwindling numbers of Sumatran rhinos. But in a tragic event, Tanjung, the only remaining captive male rhino in the state, was killed last August by a falling tree branch. A storm the previous day had inflicted much damage to the Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre in Sepilok, Sandakan, where the breeding centre is located.

With the death of 15-year-old Tanjung, only the 25-year-old female Gelugob remains. The captive breeding programme in Sabah appears doomed, much like the one at Sungai Dusun, Selangor, which ended abruptly in late 2003 when its whole population of five rhinos was wiped out over a span of 18 days. The cause of death remains disputed between bacterial and parasitic infections.

What will happen to the Sepilok breeding centre and Gelugob is uncertain. Until press time, Sabah Wildlife Department could not be reached for clarification. But trapping another wild male to restock the centre is unlikely to get much public or even scientific support, going by the poor track record of rhinos in captivity.

Desperate situation: Sumatran rhinos are shy and reclusive animals.

Captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos has seen little success globally, triggering doubts over the viability of the expensive endeavour.

In the 1980s, some 40 rhinos were trapped from threatened sites in Malaysia and Sumatra, and sent to zoos worldwide to breed but only two calves have been captive-born so far, both at Cincinnati Zoo in the United States. Many of the captive rhinos did not fare well and eventually succumbed to disease and illness.

At Sepilok, the rhinos mated and Gelugob conceived once but aborted after three months.

If the Sepilok breeding programme is continued, Dr Nan Schaffer, an expert in the physiology of rhino reproduction, says the facility, now in disrepair, will need to be enlarged and improved upon.

“It will take several millions to develop the facility to meet standards and bring in expertise as the animals require constant care and monitoring,” says the Chicago-based veterinarian who has worked on rhino breeding in Sabah on numerous occasions since 1990. The conservation group which she founded, SOS Rhino, has been assisting in Sepilok by assessing the health and reproductive integrity of the rhinos, guiding management and husbandry, and conducting research.

Protect in the wild

Dr Nan Schaffer: ‘The status of the animal is critical. To save the species, you need to engage everyone.

With uncertainties shrouding the breeding programme, SOS Rhino programme officer Dr M.S. Thayaparan says efforts now centre on protecting wild rhinos, particularly since the discovery of two juvenile rhino footprints at Tabin Wildlife Reserve meant that they are reproducing.

“If we can better protect their natural environment, they can continue breeding naturally and that would be the best thing.”

Critically endangered, Sumatran rhinos desperately need help. Their future is bleak for their habitat has dwindled, they are shot for their horns and increasing isolation hinders their breeding. Some 300 are all that remain of the species in the only two places where they occur, Sumatra and Malaysia.

The species’ situation in Malaysia is especially desperate – the peninsula has only 70 rhinos left and Sabah, 30 to 40. Schaffer says the rhino in Sabah is even more endangered as it is a subspecies, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni, that is found nowhere else since populations in Sarawak and Kalimantan have been wiped out.

For Schaffer, directing conservation efforts on rhinos make sense since they are a “flagship species” – protect them and you will protect other species in the animal kingdom as well.

SOS Rhino’s work in Sabah, funded mainly by foreign zoos and conservation groups, includes five rhino patrol units with rangers to guard the 48,000ha Tabin reserve against poachers and gather data on rhino numbers, food sources and threats.

While SOS Rhino covers Tabin, the other group championing for rhino preservation in Sabah, WWF, focuses on the Danum Valley Conservation Area. Both sites are Sabah’s last rhino strongholds.

Risks persist

The rhinos in Danum Valley, meanwhile, are in a precarious state. The reserve is enveloped by the logging compartments of Malua and Ulu Segama forests and rhinos have been found to inhabit both the protected area and those earmarked for logging.

“Our surveys show Malua and Ulu Segama to be key rhino habitats,” says WWF project manager Raymond Alfred. “Logging, even if using reduced impact techniques, should not be allowed as it can destroy salt licks and mud volcanoes which wildlife such as pigs, rhinos and elephants depend upon for certain minerals.”

He says a new logging road just 1.5km north of Danum Valley raises encroachment risks. Furthermore, boundaries are demarcated only on maps and not in the forest, so hunters issued with permits for Ulu Segama can claim ignorance after entering the reserve.

Under the RM5mil Honda-funded Rhino Rescue project, WWF has formed three rhino patrol units with 12 rangers each to guard and survey Danum Valley and the adjacent forest.

Surveys also show isolated rhino groups in pockets of forests too small to sustain the animals. To safeguard one of these scattered groups, Alfred says the state government will gazette a patch of stateland into a “forest corridor” to link the fragmented forest to Tabin.

A similar plan for another isolated rhino group outside Kulamba wildlife reserve, however, will require more talks as the proposed corridor sits on privately owned plantations.

WWF is embarking on a similar rhino conservation project in Belum forest reserve, Perak, which harbours some 10 rhinos. The five-year Honda-funded project will also see the formation of rhino patrol units to check on poachers and conduct rhino surveys.

A community programme initiated by SOS Rhino in Tabin, meanwhile, employs locals for the conservation project, encourages them to start tourism activities, fund students in wildlife conservation studies, and ropes in plantation owners to monitor encroachers, especially on land bordering the reserve.

“Our goal now is to get all stakeholders to step up and be involved,” says Schaffer.

“The status of the animal is critical. To save the species, you need to engage everyone … plantation operators, land owners, businesses, politicians, communities and scientists.

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