Jakarta Globe 2 Apr 10;
The loss of the first pregnancy of Ratu, a young female Sumatran rhinoceros at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park, is a blow to efforts to pull the species from the verge of extinction.
“This is not unusual for a rhino’s first pregnancy,” Susie Ellis, the executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, said in a statement released late on Wednesday.
“While we are saddened by this loss, the fact that we achieved a pregnancy confirms that our work with the Sumatran rhino breeding program is progressing. Ratu and [male rhino] Andalas are healthy and have produced one pregnancy, so we are optimistic that success will soon be achieved,” she added.
Ratu and Andalas were brought together by international cooperation in an effort to save this critically endangered species. They bred in January and the pregnancy was announced in February.
Ratu was born in the wild in Indonesia, while Andalas, the first of only three Sumatran rhinos born in captivity in more than 112 years, was born at a US zoo before coming to Indonesia in 2007.
The Sumatran rhino population is estimated at around 200 in the wild with 10 currently in captivity worldwide.
“Our staff is disappointed, but the fact that we did achieve a pregnancy reconfirms our commitment to helping Ratu and Andalas succeed,” said Dedi Candra, the sanctuary’s animal collection coordinator.
Sumatran rhino miscarries in Indonesian sanctuary
The Associated Press Jakarta Post 4 Apr 10;
An endangered Sumatran rhinoceros, whose pregnancy was hailed by conservationists, has miscarried, an Indonesian veterinarian said Sunday, adding that experts hoped she might still give birth someday.
Conservationists will learn what they can from the failed pregnancy of a rhino named Ratu. Her baby would have been only the fifth know born in captivity.
"We regret the loss ... but we are going to work hard in order for Ratu and Andalas to mate again," said Andriansyah, a veterinarian at Indonesia's Sumatra Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra Island. Andriansyah uses only one name, which is common in Indonesia.
There are only an estimated 200 Sumatran rhinos remaining in the wilds in Indonesia and Malaysia, which is half the number of 15 years ago. Another 10 live in captivity, including Ratu and her mate Andalas and three others at Indonesia's rhino sanctuary.
Ratu was born in the wild and later captured. She was mated with Andalas, one of the only four Sumatran rhinos known to have been born in captivity. The first was at the Calcutta Zoo in 1889; three more were born at the Cincinnati Zoo, including 9-year-old Andalas.
Sumatran rhinos are the world's smallest rhino species, standing little more than 4 feet (120 centimeters) at the shoulder.
"Conservationists across the world are saddened by the loss of the first pregnancy of Ratu," said a statement on the World Zoo Today Web site, after she miscarried last week.
Endangered rhino 'may have miscarried' in Indonesia
Yahoo News 4 Apr 10;
JAKARTA (AFP) – A critically endangered Sumatran rhino which became pregnant in captivity could have miscarried, a rhino conservationist said Sunday.
Eight-year-old Ratu became pregnant in February after mating with Andalas, the first of only three Sumatran rhinos born in captivity over the past 112 years.
"She might have miscarried... we checked and the foetus was gone. She's also ovulating," said Widodo Ramono of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia, which is conducting the breeding programme in conjunction with the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) and Cincinnati Zoo in the United States.
Ramono said the rhino would be given an ultrasound to confirm if she has miscarried.
The two-horned, hairy, forest-dwelling Sumatran rhinoceros is one of the most endangered mammals in the world, with only about 200 remaining in the wild, up to 180 in Indonesia and the rest in Malaysia.
Solitary and aggressive, they are rarely sighted in the wild and avoid even other members of their species except when females are ready to mate.
Andalas was born on September 13, 2001 in Cincinnati Zoo, while Ratu was rescued in 2005 after she was chased from a forest on Sumatra by villagers who reportedly mistook her for a mythical monster and tried to kill her.
They were introduced last year in a sanctuary in the Way Kambas national park in South Sumatra province, two years after Andalas arrived from the United States to participate in the programme.
"I'm disappointed but this is a challenge for us to try to get her pregnant again," Ramono said.
