Saving the rarest of the rare

borneo sumatran rhino (photo credit: AP/Borneo Rhino alliance)

The Sumatran rhino is a rare beast. With at most 300 individuals and possibly as few as 150 still alive this rhino species is one of the most endangered species on the planet. Within the Sumatran rhino species there is a sub-species which is even rarer – the Borneo Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni,) has only between 30 and 60 animals.

Captive breeding possible for rarest rhino species.

There is now a new hope that a captive breeding programme could come to the rescue of the sub-species. Earlier this month a female Borneo Sumatran rhino was captured. Her capture came after 18 months of trying. Malaysian conservationists are now hoping the she will mate with a male rhino that was rescued from a palm oil plantation 3 years ago.

This is now the very last chance to save this species, one of the most ancient forms of mammal.

The pair are kept at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah in the Malaysian territory of the island of Borneo. The female has been named Puntang and the male rhino is called Tam.

The capture of the female Borneo Sumatran rhino was a joint operation between the Borneo Rhino Alliance and Sabah Wildlife Department.

Previous captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos failed.

While confidence is high that the rhinos will breed in captivity this is by no means certain. In the 1980′s a captive breeding programme for Sumatran rhinos failed spectacularly when 40 rhinos were captured for the project. The rhinos were sent to zoos and reserves across the world to help breed but while much was learned about the rhino not one rhino was born in captivity in 20 years.

Not only did the project fail to produce new rhinos but the death rate in captivity was higher than in the wild so the captive breeding programme was making the matter worse. In 1997 the IUCN Asian Rhino specialist group declared the attempt a total failure. By 2004 of the 40 original rhinos captured only 8 survived.

Reproduction in wild is getting harder for Borneo’s rhinos.

Captive breeding though is though to be the best chance of survival for the Borneo Sumatran rhino because there are so few of them left in the wild. The low numbers means that it is becoming increasingly harder for rhinos to meet each other – they are solitary animals except when they come together for breeding. The low numbers also put a high risk of genetic disorders due to inbreeding.

The Sumatran rhino takes a long time to increase its population levels because of the way it breeds. A rhino pregnancy lasts as long as 16 months and then the calf can stay with the mother for 2 or 3 years. The interval between pregnancies can be as long as 4 or 5 years.

Borneo Sumatran rhinos differ from the main Sumatran rhino by being smaller and having a different shaped head. The threat to it is the same as the other Sumatran rhino subspecies – poaching.

Poaching is biggest threat to Borneo rhino.

The Sumatran rhino horn is the preferred rhino horn for many Chinese remedies. Because of its preferred status and rarity the value of a Sumatran rhino horn can be up to 6 times that of the value of an African rhino horn. It’s though that a Sumatran rhino horn can fetch up to USD$30,000 a kilogramme.

Because the Borneo Sumatran rhino is so rare the poachers use the worst type of wildlife poaching methods. It’s rare to see a rhino in the wild so sitting and waiting with a gun is not really practical. Instead rhino poachers will lay spear traps, snares and dig pits to capture or kill a rhino. This means that the rhino suffers a long and painful death. Many other creatures will also fall prey to the indiscriminate traps.

Tam, the male rhino, when he was rescued from the oil palm plantation had a badly infected leg though to have been caused by a poachers snare.

Releasing news of the capture of the female Laurentius Ambu, director of the Sabah Wildlife Department, said ”This is now the very last chance to save this species, one of the most ancient forms of mammal.”

Borneo Rhino Alliance director Junaidi Payne added, ”All of us in Sabah are relieved that we have been able to capture this rhino after almost a year-and-a-half. It is an ideal age for breeding. Puntung and Tam are being kept in adjacent paddocks. They can see each other and there is some communication.”