For those with an interest in conservation history, here is a collection of historic correspondence from the 1980s, a period when the best course of action to conserve the Sumatran rhinos in Borneo was being actively discussed. Regrettably, it did not result in the timely intervention which may have made the critical difference to the survival of this species.
Critically endangered species: Fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos left
NST Online 18 Dec 2016 by Olivia Mivil: ALL the remaining Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia and Indonesia, which number less than 100, should be managed as a single population to facilitate the reproduction of the critically-endangered species.
Researchers believe only a few of the species are left in Malaysia. Two females, Puntong and Iman, and a middle-aged male, named Kertam, have been relocated to the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, Sabah. Puntong, 20, had her front left foot torn off in a hunter’s snare trap when she was an infant, while Iman was the last wild rhino to be captured in Danum Valley, Sabah, in 2014. Both have problems conceiving due to the conditions of their reproductive system. Iman, despite being diagnosed with severe fibroids in the uterus, can still produce eggs.
Sabah-based Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne says over a period of two-and-a-half years, 15 Sumatran rhino eggs have been obtained from Iman and Puntong. Bora’s role is to care for rhinos in the sanctuary, and seek and capture rhinos in the wild. All rhino eggs have been used for in-vitro fertilisation efforts, but have yet to yield results. “We need more females in the programme to secure the first embryo faster and work out the protocols and conditions for success,” Payne says. He says many factors affect the success of fertilisation, including old age, poor quality of sperm and eggs and other infertility-related conditions. Factors that need to be considered include the optimum pH level, ideal temperature and protein requirements for the egg maturation liquid during procedures at the laboratory. On the male rhino’s part, its sperm can be frozen with liquid nitrogen, so that it can be used later for in-vitro fertilisation.
Payne says even though about a quarter of all remaining Sumatran rhinos have significant fertility issues, efforts to boost the reproduction rate are in the pipeline through advanced reproductive and cellular technologies. “We should not rely on hope to save the endangered species in the wild. In the past few decades, there have been too few individuals in any one area to form a viable breeding population,” he says, quashing a recent report by a researcher on the possible discovery of a rhino footprint in the Danum Valley conservation area.
Last year, Malaysia declared that there were no more Sumatran rhinos in the wild. Since 2006, an experienced field team from World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia has been searching for rhino footprints. Tens of thousands of hours of footage have been recorded, but no trace of rhinos have been found. However, during a survey between Aug 16 and Aug 29 at the conservation area, WWF Sabah Terrestrial Conservation Programme manager Sharon Koh Pei Hui said the team spotted a 23cm-wide footprint that might be from a Sumatran rhino. Payne says it was inconceivable that a half-tonne mammal would leave a vague outline of a single footprint, with no other signs of its existence in the vicinity.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga says discussions with the department’s Indonesian counterpart was underway to cooperate on rhino breeding. He says government is committed to conserving the critically endangered species. “In-vitro fertilisation requires experts and high technology to increase the success rate. “For now, we are relying on expertise from Germany, and the cost for each fertilisation attempt is about RM300,000.” To support the effort, the Federal Government has allocated RM11.9 million for advanced reproductive technology for rhinos.
Read the article on NST Online : http://www.nst.com.my/news/2016/12/197796/critically-endangered-species-fewer-100-sumatran-rhinos-left
Cash-strapped rhino groups turn to crowdfunding, with little success
In a desperate effort to stave off the extinction of Bornean and northern white rhinos, conservation groups in Malaysia and Kenya are appealing to the public to fund high-tech assisted reproduction efforts. / Jeremy Hance
Introduction from BORA: Many thanks to Jeremy Hance and Mongabay for yet again playing an important role in drawing attention to the Sumatran rhino. I would like to highlight two points. Sumatran rhino represents a genus, not a sub-species. Without new action, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis will be the first terrestrial mammal genus to go extinct since the thylacine in 1936. We should no longer continue with the idea of keeping the Sumatran and Bornean forms separate, but treat them as one species to be saved under one program to boost births of the genus.
Secondly, whatever happens with the now non-viable Bornean sub-species and to Borneo Rhino Alliance, Indonesia has to step up with a genus recovery program that incorporates Indonesian and Malaysian rhinos, and Bornean and Sumatran sub-species. Without that, Indonesia will take the blame when the genus does go extinct, under current trends around 2030. However, the Government of Indonesia should not take the blame. It is about time that IUCN, WWF, International Rhino Foundation and Indonesian Rhino Foundation give rational, consistent, clear and scientific advice to Government of Indonesia on exactly what needs to be done. Funds urgently need to be allocated to serious efforts to save the genus.
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Cash-strapped rhino groups turn to crowdfunding, with little success
There’s probably only one thing left that can save the Bornean rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni): cutting-edge, high cost in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. This subspecies of the Critically Endangered Sumatran rhino is represented by a dwindling handful of survivors in the wild – one of whom just perished when conservationists tried to move her this year – and three individuals living in captivity. The captive rhinos, one male and two females, are incapable of natural reproduction due to fertility problems. Extinction is on the horizon unless IVF is able to start producing rhino babies – and fast.
The technical difficulties are high – including the fact that IVF has never been successfully done with any of the world’s five rhino species – but the biggest hurdle may actually be something much more prosaic: money.
“Donors want to be assured that the animal will not go extinct on them in the next few years,” said John Payne, the executive director of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA). “It is much safer to put money into a threatened species than it is to put money into a species that is on the edge of extinction.”
Read the full article on Mongabay
The struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity (Articles from Mongabay)
Mongabay has published two articles on Sumatran rhino which summarise nicely the story of attempts to save the genus from extinction. Wisely, the articles leave out the doomed attempts (still supported by many conservationists) to keep these rhinos in the wild, knowing that each scattered sub-population was and is too small to ensure survival.
Part 1: From Indonesia to Ohio: the struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity
By Linda Lombardi
3 November 2016
In a desperate attempt to reverse a rapid population decline, a captive breeding program for Sumatran rhinos was launched in 1984. Forty rhinos were successfully moved to zoos and sanctuaries, but researchers soon found their troubles were just beginning. (Read the whole article on Mongabay)
By Linda Lombardi
8 November 2016
With the last of the American-born Sumatran rhinos now living in Indonesia, chances for this critically endangered species are once again firmly rooted in Southeast Asia. Meanwhile, researchers in Malaysian Borneo are in an even more desperate race against time. (Read the whole article on Mongabay)
BORA Channel on Youtube
See more videos on the Borneo Rhino Alliance Channel
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