The Star 5 Dec 09;
KUCHING: A 50-man expedition will set off for the Pulong Tau National Park in northern Sarawak on Monday to survey whether the rare Sumatran rhinoceros still roam the area.
State Forest Department director Datuk Len Talif Salleh said the Sumatran rhinoceros, a species under Sarawak’s Wildlife Protection Ordinance, was last reported to have been seen in the upper Limbang area such as Sungai Adang, Long Seridan and Batu Lawi in the 1950s.
However, he said a grainy image captured by a camera trap near Batu Lawi recently, seemed to be that of the rhinoceros.“It will be like searching for a needle in a haystack,” said Len Talif.
“Ten cameras have been set up in the area to try to capture images of the rhinoceros and we will be going to verify its presence,” he said when launching the expedition at the Samajaya Park in Stutong here yesterday.
The 10-day expedition, organised by the Forest Department, will comprise members from the department, WWF Malaysia and timber company Samling.
Len Talif said the Sumatran rhinoceros was currently known to roam Sabah, although a few were believed to still be surviving in Sarawak and Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“Its actual status is yet to be known and the animals may keep crossing the borders between the states.
“It is hoped that this wildlife expedition will be able to find out more about its actual population, home range and habitat,” he said. “It will also enable us to gather more information on other mammal species in the area.”
Expedition organising chairman Sapuan Ahmad said the team would assess the status of the rhinoceros at the Batu Lawi area within the park and to study the distribution of salt licks and food sources for the species. “However, we cannot guarantee that the team will bring good news.”
Expedition to track down rhinos
Sulok Tawie, New Straits Times 5 Dec 09;
KUCHING: A 50-member expedition will comb the Pulong Tau national park in northern Sarawak for the Sumatran rhinoceros, last seen over 50 years ago.
The team comprising personnel from the Sarawak Forest Department, WWF Malaysia and timber company Samling Sdn Bhd will begin the 10-day search on Monday.
"The last reported sightings of the animal were at Sungai Adang, Long Seridan and Batu Lawi in the Upper Limbang area in the 1950s," state Forest Deparment director Datuk Len Talif Salleh told reporters after the launch of the expedition at the Samajaya Forest Park yesterday.
"We are not sure whether there are any rhinos still roaming in Pulong Tau, though footprints were found near the foot of Gunong Batu Lawi in 1996," he said.
But since then, he said, no follow-up studies have been done.
A recent picture thought to be of a rhinoceros taken by a camera trap near Batu Lawi last year was too grainy because of the poor quality of the camera to make a proper identification.
With the help of the Sarawak Timber Association, the Forest Department now has 10 quality cameras that have already been set up near the foot of Batu Lawi.
He said there is no historical record of a rhino population in Sarawak.
The animal was only known to roam in Sabah.
The Pulong Tau national park was gazetted in 2005 to protect 59,817 hectares of pristine rain forest.
