Danum Valley, 21 March 2014: A rare Sumatran rhino was successfully translocated late afternoon on Friday 21 from a very remote area in Danum Valley, to join a male (Tam) and a female (Puntong) rhinos at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) Facilities in Tabin Wildlife Reserve. Named Iman, after a small river near where she was caught, her rescue was a result of a year of intense efforts to make every last rhino in Malaysia count towards efforts to prevent the extinction of one of the world’s most critically endangered species.

Iman in her jungle boma in the forest of Danum Valley

Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment said “The State Cabinet agreed in March 2013 that the only way we can ensure that every Sumatran rhino in Sabah plays a role to save the species is to bring all of them into a managed, fenced facility, with the necessary local and global expertise and collaboration to breed them”.

“In February this year, the State Cabinet agreed that we should loan our male, Tam, to Cincinnati Zoo for breeding as part of that collaboration. If Iman proves to be fertile, there might be no necessity for Tam to fly to Cincinnati to mate with a ‘foreign bride’. In fact the State Cabinet approval to send him to the US in the first place was conditional upon our failure to catch a fertile young female rhino at Danum within a reasonable time to mate with Tam,” added Masidi.

Iman resting in her wallow

“We also hope that with the continued support and expertise on rhino reproductive biology from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife based in Berlin, Germany, we will have baby rhinos very soon,” concluded Masidi.

Sime Darby Foundation’s Chairman, Tun Musa Hitam, who expressed jubilation with Iman’s rescue and successful translocation efforts said “I would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved in this effort. All the hard work has paid off and we have another opportunity to help save this magnificent species from extinction”.

Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department said “The Sumatran rhino is on the verge of extinction in Sabah. Bringing them into captive conditions allows us to maximize the chance that each rhino can help save the species”.

Iman being airlifted out of Danum using a Sirkorsky S64 Sky crane

“My Department has been working on this with Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) and other partners including WWF Malaysia and Yayasan Sabah. Once Iman is settled into Tabin, we will review all the potential options on how she can best contribute to her species. We hope that this success will act as a boost to international collaboration on the Sumatran rhino, and through BORA try to engage with our counterparts in Indonesia,” added Ambu.

“I would like to congratulate BORA, WWF Malaysia, Yayasan Sabah, Sabah Forestry Department and my own staff and especially the Wildlife Rescue Unit who worked tirelessly on this rescue operation. Not forgetting Erickson Air-Crane Inc, without the use of their huge Sikorsky S-64 Helicopter, this rescue would not have been impossible. My sincere gratitude also goes to Sime Darby Foundation, which funded this rescue operation as well as the Malaysian Palm Oil Council, which funds our Wildlife Rescue Unit. This operation is all that serious wildlife conservation work should be about,” concluded Ambu.

BORA, Wildlife Rescue Unit and Sabah Foundation staff at work building the temporary stockade (boma) for Iman, where she is housed before translocation out of the forest by helicopter.

The Daily Express, Tuesday 11 March 2014. Kota Kinabalu: A female Sumatran rhino was captured deep inside Danum Valley, Monday, raising a desperate last hope that experts may be able to use it to get some baby rhinos sired in captive breeding to avert a local extinction of the species in Sabah. That is provided the new “girl” turns out to be cyst-free and reproductively healthy and fertile.

A mist-covered view of the forest canopy at Danum Valley

“The rhino fell into a pit trap dug at a site on a known rhino trail deep inside the Danum Valley Conservation Area about six hours’ walk from Yayasan Sabah’s Borneo Rainforest Lodge,” Dr Sen Nathan, Asst Director-cum-Chief Veterinarian of Sabah Wildlife Department told Daily Express.

“It turned out to be quite an aggressive female and no report of injury on the animal had been received from the field so far,” Dr Sen noted. The Bornean Rhino Alliance (BORA) and Sabah Wildlife Department set up the trap, after camera traps identified the presence of the rhino in the area and intensified this joint effort when the State Cabinet approved the capture of remnants of rhinos in Sabah’s forests last year. All rhinos captured will now be used for all-out captive breeding in Sabah or in proven zoos overseas to save them from dying out from old age or illegally hunted for their horns. Extinction of the species appears certain because it’s world population had plummeted to an all-time low of less than 100 and it is believed that most females, even the wild ones roaming in protected areas, are probably cyst-infested and incapable of reproducing.

Experts at the International Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit in Singapore last April issued an emergency and crisis recommendation to capture wild rhinos to sire as many and as fast as possible by using and leveraging on the most proven captive breeding experts and most successful facilities in the world. The State Cabinet gave the green light to send Sabah’s lone captive male rhino Tam to Cincinnati Zoo to mate with female, Suci, in June, and also allow experts from Cincinntti Zoo such as Dr Terri Roth to help mate Tam and any new female captured from Danum.

As of 7pm Monday night, the newly captured rhino remained in the pit, Dr Sen said. “As far as I am concerned, it’s good news only after we have translocated the animal safely to Tabin Wildlife Reserve Rhino Sanctuary,” said Dr Sen. The capture of the yet-to-be named rhino coincided with the visit to Sabah of world renowned documentary naturalist, Sir David Attenborough, who was in Danum Valley for the filming of “Conquest of the Sky” for Sky Vision, UK.

Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius Amu, said he was waiting for the report on the capture. BORA Executive Officer, Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne, said he’ll get into Danum Valley Tuesday by helicopter to dispatch extra men to get the rhino out.

Read the full article featured in the Borneo Post on 14 Feb 2014.

Tam will join other rhinos at the Cincinnati Zoo in efforts to promote breeding success

Kota Kinabalu: The State Cabinet decided unanimously Wednesday to allow the transfer of Sabah’s Sumatran rhinos such as Tam on loan to the Cincinnati Zoo in the US under a collaborative natural breeding in captivity programme to stave off the imminent extinction of Sabah’s last remaining few individuals in Danum Valley.

“This is a step Sabah didn’t want to take in the past but it gives us no other option and the State Cabinet has agreed to the recommendations of the Sabah Wildlife Department to go for the ultimate option to work with the Cincinnati Zoo,” State Culture, Tourism and Environment Minister, Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun told Daily Express in reference to an export ban of rhinos imposed in 1985.

“I want to get it done as soon as possible, because we have been waiting for years and so far, we have not found a solution that we thought we could get it done,” Masidi added.

But leveraging on the world’s only proven success of Cincinnati Zoo, particularly the like of Dr Terri Roth who had had successfully bred three baby Sumatran rhinos in captivity.

The birth of male Andalas on Sept 13, 2001 marked the first birth of this complex species in a zoo in 112 years, followed by female Suci in July 2004 and subsequently male Harapan born on April 27, 2007 and later helped Indonesia to sire a fourth – Andatu, in 2012, in Way Kambas, Sumatra, using Andalas as the father.

“To me it’s simple, if we don’t do anything, it’s just like watching them die a natural death until the last rhino in Sabah goes extinct,” Masidi explained.

“So there is no other option, Tam will take a holiday in Cincinnati and meet his girlfriend Suci (whose original parents came from Sumatra),” Masidi quipped – a request long sought by the Americans who believe mating Tam and Suci which come from two totally different genetic lines will produce genetically robust ancestors for future generations of Sumatran rhinos.

“We don’t want the rhino to go extinct during our life time. We are at a crossroad, so we are willing to take any chance although the risks are always there,” Masidi said.

However, Masidi said the State Cabinet also gave the Wildlife Department a “reasonable time” of four to six months to capture a female rhino in Danum Valley, since camera traps caught images of a female as recently as Dec 2013.

If the female is indeed captured, it implies Tam will stay on a bit longer to mate locally.

Asked if he would invite Dr Terri Roth to Sabah to help enhance the chances of success of this local breeding if any, Masidi said: “Yes, we should allow anyone with the expertise to help. If Dr Terri had bred three rhinos she must be some body who is well qualified to assist,” Masidi said.

“I was made to understand that Cincinnati Zoo is more than willing to help us. Even the Germans are more than willing to help us, so we should not limit any body who offers assistance, anyone we feel have the expertise I think we welcome the assistance,” argued Masidi who said he had never met Dr Terri Roth but would certainly welcome a meeting to talk over what’s the best way forward.  While Dr Terri’s forte is natural breeding in Captivity, the Germans from Berlin are reputed for their cutting edge technology in Artificial Insemination which had great successes with the elephants and other species of rhinos.

The Sumatran rhino Crisis Summit held in Singapore in early April 2013 recommended the simultaneous utilisation of the world’s best and the most proven expertise in natural breeding in captivity and Artificial Insemination to get a safeguarding population in captivity produced as fast as possible. Meanwhile, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department, Datuk Dr Laurentius, who presented the Cabinet Paper Wednesday, said it was a “very happy day” for him.

“To us it is dream come true, the best option I can think of ,” he told Daily Express.

“The credit goes to Masidi who pushed it through and kept on pushing until we get the result today, for the betterment of Sabah’s Sumatran rhino,” Laurentius noted.

The Cabinet Paper documented the various steps Sabah had taken in order to breed rhinos locally since the 1980s including an export ban so far had not succeeded. It also included recent plans to capture a female to breed with Tam after Puntung had proved cysts infested but so far, the targeted new female remains elusive.  Finally, Laurentius argued that the option was for Tam to go to Cincinnati where a healthy, cyst-free nine year old Suci is just at the prime of fertility offers a chance to get pregnant by Tam.

3 October 2013

At a meeting of the five Asian Rhino range states – Bhutan, India, Indonesia, Malaysia and Nepal – a common action plan was agreed today with the aim of increasing the populations of Asian Rhino species by at least 3% annually by 2020.

This agreement, called the Bandar Lampung Declaration, was reached after two days of negotiations at the Asian Rhino Range States Meeting held in Bandar Lampung, Indonesia, hosted by the government of Indonesia and facilitated by the IUCN Species Survival Commission (SSC).

“Our decision to host this meeting reflects Indonesia’s determination to do everything we can to save our species of rhino,” says Zulkifli Hasan, Minister of Forestry, Indonesia. “We have found that when a species becomes extremely rare, occurring at a very low density, such as the Sumatran Rhino, we need to take special measures to ensure that the animals can find each other and breed.”

The commitment outlines specific conservation actions that are necessary to secure a steady growth rate of all three Asian Rhino species – Sumatran, Javan and Greater One-horned. These include improving the biological management and monitoring of the species, strengthening the protection of their habitats, performing strict anti-poaching operations, introducing tougher penalties for those that illegally kill Asian Rhinos, and maintaining the ban in the international trade of all rhino products.

“The number of surviving Asian Rhinos, especially of Javan and Sumatran Rhinos, is currently so low that maintaining their populations is not enough to Greater One-horn rhinoceros at the Chitwan National Park, Nepal. Photo: Andrew Gellsecure their survival,” says Simon Stuart, Chair of IUCN SSC. “What we need to see is the recovery of these species and a steady increase of their populations. Seeing all Asian Rhino range states agree on a common and very specific action plan is a major step towards achieving this goal.”

Pressure from illegal hunting on all species of rhinos has grown seriously in recent years, mainly due to a significant increase in non-traditional use of rhino horn and a rise of rhino horn trade in Asian markets, especially in Vietnam and China.

The Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is listed as Critically Greater One-horned Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in the Manas Wildlife Sanctuary, India. Photo: Remco van MermEndangered on The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ and its total population could be fewer than 100 individuals. An estimated 50 individuals of the Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), also listed as Critically Endangered, survive in Java’s Ujung Kulon National Park. The Greater One-horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis), with estimated 3,339 individuals mainly in India and Nepal, is listed as Vulnerable and could easily be lost if current trends in the illicit trade in rhino horn continue.

The agreement was reached based on the latest knowledge on the status and trends of the three species provided by the IUCN SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group.

Representatives of Government of Indonesia sign the Declaration Representatives of Government of Malaysia – Sabah sign the Declaration

Read the Bandar Lampung Declaration, October 2013