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23rd August 2015

Sumatran rhino declared extinct in Malaysia

The Sumatran rhinoceros has been declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia – leaving only nine in captivity and 100 or fewer individuals in neighbouring Indonesia.

 

Sumatran rhino declared extinct in Malaysia
Credit: Rasmus Gren Havmøller

 

Leading scientists and experts in the field of rhino conservation have stated in a new paper that it is safe to consider the Sumatran rhinoceros extinct in the wild in Malaysia. The survival of this species now depends on the 100 remaining individuals in the wild in neighbouring Indonesia and the nine rhinos held in captivity.

Despite intensive survey efforts, there have been no signs of the wild Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in Malaysia since 2007, apart from two females that were captured for breeding purposes in 2011 and 2014. Scientists now consider the species extinct in the wild in Malaysia. The experts urge conservation efforts in Indonesia to pick up the pace.

The conclusions are published online in Oryx, the International Journal of Conservation, led by the Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate at the University of Copenhagen. Partners include WWF, the International Rhino Foundation, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which maintains the global Red List of Threatened Species.

 

 
Only four Sumatran rhinos have been born in captivity so far. Three in the U.S. and one in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia, where this footage is from. Filmed by Rasmus Gren Havmøller.

 

“It is vital for the survival of the species that all remaining Sumatran rhinos are viewed as a metapopulation – meaning that all are managed in a single program across national and international borders, in order to maximise overall birth rate. This includes the individuals currently held in captivity”, says lead author and PhD student Rasmus Gren Havmøller from the Centre for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate.

The experts point to the creation of intensive management zones as a solution; areas with increased protection against poaching, where individual rhinos can be relocated to, in order to increase the number of potential and suitable mating partners.

As illustrated in the map below, the Sumatran rhino was once common in this part of the world – historically ranging across most of South-east Asia. Today, it is found only in a few small pockets of land. Here, less than 100 individuals are thought to live in three separate populations, one of which has seen a critical decline in distribution range of 70% over the last decade. This trend echoes how the population dropped from around 500 to extinction between 1980 and 2005 in Sumatra's largest protected area, the enormous 13,800 km2 Kerinci Seblat National Park.

 

sumatran rhino historical range map

 

Apart from the wild populations, nine Sumatran rhinos are in captivity – one in Cincinnati Zoo in the U.S. (soon to be moved to Indonesia), three held at facilities in Sabah, Malaysia for attempts to produce embryos by in vitro fertilisation, and five in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Sumatra, Indonesia.

“The tiger in India was saved from extinction due to the direct intervention of Mrs. Gandhi, the then prime minister, who set up Project Tiger. A similar high level intervention by President Joko Widodo of Indonesia could help pull the Sumatran rhinos back from the brink”, says Christy Williams, co-author.

Widodo Ramono, co-author and Director of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia (YABI) elaborates: “Serious effort by the government of Indonesia should be put to strengthen rhino protection by creating Intensive Protection Zone (IPZ), intensive survey of the current known habitats, habitat management, captive breeding, and mobilising national resources and support from related local governments and other stakeholders.”

The conservation strategy so far has included the ongoing development of Rhino Protection Units at sites with remaining viable breeding populations. While this has been achieved, the authors highlight a need for strengthening the units against poaching efforts, especially in northern Sumatra. With a high demand for rhino horns in the black markets of Asia, poaching continues to be a major threat to the species.

Finally, captive breeding was identified as a key action back in 2013 at the Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit in Singapore, and agreed upon that same year by the Indonesian government, in the Bandar Lampung Declaration. However, the necessary reproductive technology may still take years to develop, during which time we may lose the Sumatran rhino in the wild, the authors conclude.

 

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