BORA is an NGO which is dedicated to uniting partners in a concerted campaign to save the Sumatran Rhinoceros from extinction.
One of the most endangered animal species anywhere in the world, the existence of the Sumatran rhinoceros is still critical. John Payne, the Executive Director of the Bornean Rhino Alliance (BORA), recently gave an interview at BFM to highlight what needs to be done to prevent the first extinction of a mammal species in Malaysia since 1932.
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The phrase “doing the same thing again and again, and expecting a different result” applies egregiously to the Sumatran rhinoceros. It is clear that protecting wild populations has failed, and that natural breeding in captivity results in too few births to be a viable strategy.
Over the past thirty years, very many more Sumatran rhinos have died than have been born, both in the wild and equally so in captivity. There are two possible solutions. One is to accept that saving this species is now too difficult and expensive, and to abandon it to extinction. The other is to focus entirely on production of Sumatran rhino embryos in the laboratory. This can be done by intracellular sperm injection into oocytes, where one sperm is inserted into an oocyte (thereby saving the millions of sperm that are always wasted during classical artificial insemination), and the resulting embryo implanted into a female rhino. There are at least two male Sumatran rhinos in captivity that are known sperm producers (Tam in Tabin, and Andalas in Way Kambas). Indonesia has three fertile females Sumatran rhinos in managed facilities at Way Kambas, none of which are producing babies by natural breeding. All captive females, including Puntung and Iman in Tabin, can be treated with hormones to boost and regularize oocyte production.
In theory, several hundreds of Sumatran rhino oocytes could be produced annually from captive females. Any extra embryos that might be produced can either be frozen for future maturation, or attempts could be made to implant them into zoo rhinos of different species.
We need to pose several pressing questions: why are we not doing this now? Why are we wasting time counting wild rhinos and not making any clear decisions? Why are the rhino experts not advocating for this? Why are the big international conservation organizations not explicitly supporting this idea?
By Tan Cheng Li, The Star, 2 June 2014
Mistakes of the past have cost us many rhinos. Now’s the time to learn from the errors.
Between 1984 and 1995, a total of 22 Sumatran rhinos were captured in Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah for a captive breeding project. Except for one which was already pregnant when captured, none bred while in captivity, and all have since died.
Today, there are three captive rhinos in Sabah, taken from the wild in recent years – a male in 2008 and two females in 2011 and in 2014. They are our last hope to breed the critically endangered species in a final bid to boost their numbers.
In the wild, exact numbers are unknown, but rhino experts say the species is most likely extinct in Peninsular Malaysia and on the verge of extinction in Sabah, which has fewer than 10. In short, the Sumatran rhino is “functionally extinct” in Borneo and in Malaysia – meaning that the few individuals remaining are insufficient to save the species.
How did we reach this dire state? A paper “Preventing the extinction of the Sumatran rhinoceros” by three experts from the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) gives a critical account of how Malaysia blundered in its attempt to wrest the species from the brink of extinction.
It points to a combination of lack of knowledge on rhino reproduction biology, poor husbandry and veterinary care in captive centres, a misguided approach in focusing on protecting rhinos in the wild, and lack of co-operation between rhino range states that led to today’s rhino crisis. The paper was authored by Bora chairman Dr Abdul Hamid Ahmad, executive director Dr Junaidi Payne and veterinarian Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin,
“There is finally a realisation in Malaysia that it muddled through with Sumatran rhinoceros in the past 50 years, recycling fabricated population estimates and refraining from making necessary conservation decisions,” states the authors in the paper published in the Journal Of Indonesian Natural History (December 2013). It also publicly reveals for the first time, information on the causes of deaths of captive rhinos.
Hunted out
Rhino horns have long been favoured as a folk remedy. In the first decades of the 20th century, extensive hunting had already led to a precipitous decline in its distribution and numbers. By the mid-20th century, the species was depleted from its former range and in danger of extinction in Malaya and Borneo and elsewhere on mainland Asia.
By the early 1980s, wildlife experts estimated the Malaysian population at between 52 and 75, including 20 to 25 individuals in the Endau-Rompin area in Johor, and 15 to 30 in Sabah. In 1995, Dr Zainal found evidence of only five adult rhinos in Endau-Rompin, showing that published estimates of rhino numbers were notoriously unreliable, and that actual numbers had declined by half over the preceding decade.
The United Nations-led Sumatran Rhinoceros Conservation Strategy project (1995–1998) also pointed to a dwindling population, but “… inflated numbers kept appearing in public domain, largely due to some proponents’ disbelief that two decades of effort had failed.” As recent as 2007, official figures still put the rhino population at 70 to 100 in Peninsular Malaysia and 30 in Sabah. The far-from-accurate population figures could have jeopardised conservation efforts.
After the plight of the Sumatran rhino surfaced in the early 1980s, the International Union for Conservation of Nature in 1984 convened the first Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit, in Singapore. Some 20 representatives from governments, zoos and wildlife institutions made plans to prevent the species’ extinction, which included enhanced protection of wild rhino populations, raising awareness, and developing a global captive breeding population.
From 1984 to 1995, 22 Sumatran rhinos were captured in Malaysia (see table) for a breeding programme. At that time, nothing was known of rhino reproductive biology. The paper says an analysis reveals several kinds of failures which should not have been allowed to occur with such a precious, critically endangered species.
Many rhinos were kept in conditions which caused them poor health and stress. It was known that rhinos live in closed-canopy forest and typically wallow in clean mud for five to six hours daily. However, most captive rhinos were kept in conditions of exposure to sunlight and in some cases without access to clean mud wallows. Frequent sunlit conditions have been linked to partial and complete blindness in some captive rhinos. Other mistakes included feeding unsuitable milk to an infant rhino and unsuitable enclosures which caused one rhino to be trapped between bars, and asphyxiate.
Deaths at rhino centres
Most shocking of all, basic hygiene was generally poor. Some rhinos were kept for long periods in facilities that lacked basic hygiene protocols and biosecurity measures, leading to bacterial infections and eventually, deaths. There was also a lack of experienced veterinary care, causing identification and treatment of disease to come late or not at all. Prior to the development of the Sungai Dusun Rhino Conservation Centre in Selangor, rhinos were maintained at Melaka Zoo, where treated piped water was installed only after the deaths of Sri Delima and Julia.
The tragic death of all six rhinos at Sungai Dusun between April and November 2003 put an end to the captive breeding effort. The cause of deaths was reported to be due to trypanosomiasis originating from buffaloes on nearby land. The paper disputes this. It says long-term monthly monitoring of blood for parasites and blood parameters showed no trypanosomes (a parasitic protozoa) in the rhinos. Also, no trypanosome infection was detected in the blood of the buffaloes. In the post-mortem, trypanosomes were detected in only two of the seven rhinos that died, while abundant bacterial growth was found in the vital organs; mucoid Escherichia coli in five animals and Klebsiella pneumoniae in four.
The paper states that the death of male rhino Shah in January 2002 from mucoid E. coli should have prompted the facility to be on strict alert. Sensitivity tests were done in 2002 and gentamycin was found to be the only effective treatment but it was not used on the ill animals. (The tragedy recurred seven years later – from Sept 17-29, 2010, seven Malayan tapirs died from mucoid E. coli at Sungai Dusun, which by then had been turned into a tapir breeding centre. Only one tapir showed trypanosomes in the blood.)
The paper says trypanosomes might have infected the rhinos and tapirs at any time at Sungai Dusun, and that natural resistance effectively suppressed their growth until the advent of poor health and compromised immune response resulting from chronic mucoid E. coli and Klebsiella infection.
“The conclusion that trypanosomes were the cause of the Sungai Dusun deaths may have been reached erroneously, in order to allow parties involved to avoid responsibility for chronic poor hygiene in the facilities,” says the paper.
It sums up the reasons for the failure of the 1984-1995 effort on captive breeding:
> Insufficient knowledge of Sumatran rhino breeding biology and inadequate high-quality veterinary care and husbandry in captive facilities.
> Unsuitable diet in some facilities, with insufficient attention paid to the risk of iron ferritin disease.
> Stress on rhinos due to weaknesses in facilities design and poor visitor control.
> Over half of all female rhinos have reproductive tract pathology, making natural breeding difficult or impossible.
> Absence of suitable males in Peninsular Malaysia; males in Sabah with low or no sperm production.
> Rhinos were not shared between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah due to beliefs that they were different subspecies, and between Peninsular Malaysia and Indonesia due to loss of trust after the initial exchange.
> Rhinos were not sent to the United States for breeding programmes.
> Some pairings involved inexperienced or incompatible rhinos.
> Artificial insemination was never attempted due to lack of knowledge.
Failure in preserving wild rhinos
With the deaths of the captive rhinos, the breeding project became unpopular and the focus shifted to saving rhinos in the wild rather than bringing them into fenced, managed conditions. This proved to be a misguided approach as according to the paper, no one knows for sure whether wild populations are of sufficient size and fecundity to assure their survival, even in the absence of poaching.
Moreover, this approach does not address the impact of various factors on small, isolated wild populations or the Allee effect, which refers to a “positive correlation between population size or density and the mean individual fitness”. The Allee effect states that when a population declines to very low numbers, breeding success declines in tandem. This is because factors associated with low numbers (difficulty in finding a mate, narrow genetic base, skewed sex ratio, reproductive tract pathology linked to long periods without breeding) contribute to drive rhino numbers lower and lower, even in places with suitable habitat and no hunting.
“In small, scattered and non-contiguous populations, it is just a matter of time before the average annual death rate exceeds the annual birth rate, and before the population goes extinct.” The authors of the paper believe that the Allee effect was significantly impacting survival of wild rhinos because:
> All records of wild juveniles were anecdotal, with no information on actual annual increase (or decrease) in wild population size.
> Rhino numbers have been very low for many decades in most if not all areas where they are still present, so inbreeding was likely.
> A skewed sex ratio was observed during the capture of rhinos from 1984 to 1995. The male to female ratio was 1:9 in Peninsular Malaysia and 8:1 in Sabah, and all the captured males were old.
> Reproductive tract pathology is common in the captured females, a phenomenon associated with lack of either breeding or carrying of foetuses to successful birth.
“The Allee effect has likely been present in all Sumatran rhino populations over an extended period, effectively entering the Sumatran rhino into the extinction vortex irrespective of whatever protective measures might be put in place in the wild,” declares the paper.
The lesson from Malaysia, it says, is that the priority should have been to increase the number of rhino pregnancies rather than to hope that the mortality rate of wild rhinos through poaching could be reduced. “Protecting wild rhinos may be an over-ambitious option and captive breeding may have a greater chance of success than prevailing wisdom admits.”
What now?
Last April, 100 wildlife experts convened the second Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit in Singapore. They concluded that without immediate and committed conservation intervention, the Sumatran rhino will go extinct soon. Indonesia and Malaysia were urged to collaborate.
Simulations done during the summit showed that the species stands a good chance of surviving if there are at least 30 individuals with a birth interval of three years or less. The future of populations smaller than that is bleak even if they are healthy and protected. Using a more realistic birth interval of seven years, a starting population of 50 rhinos will have a negative growth rate of about -3% per year.
“This means that, without intervention, all possible known wild and captive populations are in an extinction vortex and are not sufficiently abundant to increase populations in isolation of each other.”
The paper says to reduce the current captive population’s extinction probability to below 10%, some 16 rhinos need to be transferred into captivity and managed with an interval of three years.
To date, there have been only four captive births, all descendants from the same pair in Cincinnati Zoo, the United States. The Sumatra-caught rhinos, Emi and Ipuh, both fertile and compatible, had received excellent care there, resulting in rhino births in 2001, 2004 and 2007. Their offspring, Andalas, was sent to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, in 2007 and five years later, fathered a male calf.
Lesson learned
“Much of the fear over captive breeding stems from past failures,” says the paper. “But knowledge on rhino biology, animal husbandry and reproductive technology has improved.” Advances include the cryo-preservation of egg cells by vitrification, successful artificial insemination and subsequent live births of the white and Indian rhinos, and in vitro fertilisation.
The paper points to a general consensus that the sole imperative now is to produce Sumatran rhino embryos. This can only be done by bringing every rhino into closely managed facilities, and making maximum use of their gametes.
“Having these rhinos and gametes as part of a globally managed meta-population (separated populations, but with some interaction) is essential, and attempts at natural breeding and artificial insemination must continue as long as either is possible.”
The paper states that in the absence of agreement to share rhinos and gametes between nations and facilities, the current scope in Malaysia is limited. Thus, a key element of current effort is the cryo-preservation of gametes and cells that might be used in the future to restore the species after its extinction in Malaysia.
Press Release: All-out effort by conservationists to prevent the world’s most endangered rhino species from going extinct
LAHAD DATU, SABAH 14 MAY 2014 – The critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros is still fighting for survival and in the twilight of its existence. However, all is not lost yet, thanks to the ongoing efforts by passionate and dedicated scientists, veterinarians, conservationists and funders alike. Despite the recent unfortunate findings of massive tumours in the reproductive system of the female rhino named Iman, hopes remain high. These groups of concerned individuals have yet to exhaust all options and have recently embarked on the use of advanced reproductive technology in a desperate bid to save this iconic species.
Based on recommendations by reproductive experts from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, Germany, Iman who suffered heavy bleeding due to the tumours was put on a treatment that promotes blood clotting. Iman produces eggs but, due to the pathology, she cannot become pregnant. In the next two months, attempts will be made by the world’s foremost specialists from Italy and Germany in collaboration with local experts, to produce a Sumatran rhino embryo in the laboratory, using oocytes from Iman and sperm from the sole Borneo Rhinoceros Sanctuary (BRS) male, named Tam.
Speaking during a media visit to the BRS at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve today, Yatela Zainal Abdin, CEO of Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), the main funder of the BRS programme, said, “YSD has committed so much resources to save the species, and although the scenario looks bleak, we will support all efforts to save them.
“We have no other alternative now as it is evident that we cannot just rely on the natural breeding process and we have to look at scientific approaches. The development of advanced reproductive technology is one of the options which may be able to boost rhino births and bring about a positive turn to the three-decade struggle to save the Sumatran rhinoceros,” she added.
YSD has been supporting the BRS programme since 2009, committing a substantial RM11.4 million to fund the sanctuary’s operations, and working closely with the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) and Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD). The six-year commitment is until 2015. Meanwhile, SWD Director, Datuk Dr. Laurentius Ambu, said, “Advanced reproductive technology is clearly a bold approach and SWD strongly supports the cooperation between various parties working hard to ensure every avenue is explored to save this near extinct species.”
BORA’s Executive Director, Datuk Dr. John Payne stated, “Many decades of very low population size now represent a critical threat to the survival of the Sumatran rhinos. In particular, females develop severe reproductive tract pathology if they do not breed once they are sexually mature. ”
“Although treatment for Iman’s health is priority, it is key to continue to look for ways to advance the breeding possibilities and biotechnology may be the only salvation to save this 20 million year old species from being wiped off the earth,” he added.
BORA and SWD are now focusing on assisted natural breeding between Puntung, a previously captured female rhino and Tam, who was brought to Tabin in August 2008. Puntung, captured in 2011, suffers from an intractable uterus filled with cysts, likely due to a failed pregnancy in the past. This year, Iman, Puntung and Tam will become donors for in-vitro fertilisation attempts, including a technique called intracellular sperm injection whereby, due to low sperm counts, attempts are made to select and inject individual sperm into the egg. The likes of attempts such as this have hardly been tried so far in the name of conservation of critically endangered species. If these attempts succeed, the next big question will be where to find a healthy mother rhino to nurture the resulting embryo.
The current situation has led wildlife conservationists in Sabah to be able to convince decision-makers that the remaining isolated rhinos in Sabah are too sparsely located to breed on their own in the wild. Therefore, the only way to maintain the population, is to rescue as many rhinos as possible and put them through the assisted-reproductive technology.
All parties agree that giving up is not an option. “SWD is going to work very closely with BORA and WWF to continue the survey in Danum Valley for additional rhinos, and with Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin and its specialist associates, to see how far we can advance these exciting new prospects for bringing back a species on the brink of extinction,” Datuk Laurentius explained.
With probably less than 100 Sumatran rhinos left in both Malaysia and Indonesia, channels of communication between both the countries are still being pursued with optimism to work together to bring the rhinos together to mate and perhaps one day, get off the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) critically endangered list. Although the Sumatran rhino population is on the brink of extinction, this can still change with appropriate interventions.
YSD’s commitment to environment conservation projects underlines its passion for supporting significant environmental issues and becoming a valuable intermediary in raising the public awareness for these important causes. YSD has pledged more than RM 110 million for the next 10 years to environmental projects such as Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) in Sabah, Restoration and Protection of Orangutan Habitat in Ulu Segama, Sabah, the Hornbill conservation project in Belum-Temengor Forest Complex (BTFC), the conservation of the Bornean Banteng in Sabah, the conservation of Sunda Clouded Leopards in fragmented landscape of Sabah and the conservation of the Malaysian Elephants through the Management of Ecology of Malaysian Elephants (MEME) project.
More information on Yayasan Sime Darby
Yayasan Sime Darby, or Sime Darby Foundation, was established in 1982 and is the primary driver of Sime Darby Berhad’s Corporate Social Responsibility initiatives. The objectives of Yayasan Sime Darby are supported by its five pillars, namely: education; environment, community and health; youth and sports and arts and culture. While led by independent members of a Governing Council and managed by a dedicated team, Yayasan Sime Darby works closely with the Sime Darby Group, in areas of mutual interest.
Since its inception, Yayasan Sime Darby has awarded scholarships worth RM202 million to 2,271 students both in and outside Malaysia. It is supporting long term research projects of significant scientific value like the Stability of Altered Forest Ecosystems (SAFE) project which is the world’s largest ecological project, a joint effort with the Royal Society (The UK and Commonwealth Academy of Science). Yayasan Sime Darby is also actively involved in the development and improvements of sports in Malaysia namely track cycling, lawn bowling, cricket, tennis and golf. Under its community and health pillar, Yayasan Sime Darby supports initiatives to promote the well-being of disadvantaged people irrespective of race, culture, religion, creed or gender and works with established organisations to promote the development of arts and culture.
Tabin Wildlife Reserve: The successful capture of a female Sumatran rhino named Iman from a remote part of Danum Valley, and her transfer to Tabin Wildlife Reserve on 21 March, has revealed once and for all that her species is on the very edge of extinction in Malaysia. Excitement mounted amongst the people involved in the operation when indications of pregnancy were observed after her capture. The signs included feisty behavior, a torn ear, probably a result of a past tussle with a male, a mass with blood vessels inside the uterus, and minor bleeding from the private parts. A detailed ultrasound examination under anesthesia of Iman by specialists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research Berlin (IZW) with local counterparts revealed today (3 April), however, that what had been suspected to be a fetus is in fact a collection of tumors in the uterus.
“With the serious blow to the Global Sumatran Rhino Breeding program with the death of Suci in Cincinnati Zoo, this new revelation of Iman’s very poor reproductive capability due to her uterine tumors is very sad news to all of us,“ said Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment.
“But we shall not give up! As we are working with one of the world’s best large mammal reproductive specialist from Germany (IZW), with their assistance and technological know-how, we will make the best out of this worst case scenario,” added Masidi.
Meanwhile Tun Musa Hitam, Chairman of Yayasan Sime Darby, the main funder of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary Programme (BRS), was devastated to hear the news but remained hopeful, “Our hearts are saddened by the turn of events with Iman but all hopes are not lost yet. We now have to act quickly and boldly to ensure the survival of this critically endangered species.”
“It is very clear how we need to proceed. We have to embark on a biotechnology approach to save this species, with a focus on techniques such as in vitro fertilization,” said Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, “And with the death of Suci in Cincinnati Zoo, where we were planning to send Tam to breed with her, we now have to focus all our efforts on Inam and hope she can successfully breed with Tam,” added Ambu.
“What we found out today was a dramatic emotional rollercoaster. We came here with hope that based on initial ultrasound images there was a probability that Iman was pregnant but when we did a more thorough examination we learnt that there is no fetus in her uterus but big big tumors, some as big as footballs. This means that she has not been sexually active for a long time probably without a male partner for maybe 5 to 10 years,” said IZW reproductive specialist Dr Thomas Hildebrand.
“I think the whole procedure that we did to confirm Iman’s reproductive status shows actually how competent the team of experts comprising of both Malaysian and German specialists. So if we do have a healthy breeding female we could easily have a successful breeding program. Thus we would like to advise Sabah to go with all the force it has to rescue the remaining rhinos in the wild as this is probably the only hope with them to breed through assisted breeding techniques,” added Tom.
“We have known since the 1990s that female Sumatran rhinos are very susceptible to growth of cysts and tumors in the reproductive tract, a syndrome associated with long periods without breeding,” said Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin, Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) veterinarian based in Tabin Wildlife Reserve, “If we want to save the species, we need to bring rhinos into managed conditions and try out advanced reproductive technologies.”
Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne, BORA executive director, stated that “Everyone concerned with preventing the extinction of this magnificent species really ought to work collaboratively to share knowledge, ideas, experience, gametes and rhinos. That includes Indonesia and Malaysia, and the various specialists, notably IZW”.
“This is grim news as this seems to confirm our thoughts that rhinos might not be breeding anymore in the wild,” said Dr Sen Nathan, Assistant Director at the Sabah Wildlife Department. “The reproductive tract pathology in Iman seems very similar to the lesions found not only in Puntung, the other female Sumatran rhino rescued in 2011, but also in the poached female rhino in Kalabakan in 2001. The poached female rhino was a very young healthy female but her whole reproductive tract was unviable and full of large tumors as well,” added Sen.
“By the looks of this we might be seeing the last generation of Sumatran rhinos in the wild. Once these few grow old and die… that’s it, there would be no more rhinos in Sabah,” sadly concluded Sen.
