Yahoo News 23 Sep 10;
KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) – Malaysian wildlife officials on Borneo island said Thursday they will try to artificially inseminate an elderly female rhinoceros in a bid to revive one of the world's most endangered species.
Gelegub, a Sumatran rhino who at 28-years-old is equivalent to a 70-something grandmother in human terms, will be impregnated with sperm from a virile young male rhino.
"Gelegub is too old to mate normally and the mating ritual of rhinos is quite violent so this would be one of the best ways to try and get her pregnant and give birth to a rhino in captivity," said Sen Nathan, coordinator of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary where the procedure will be carried out.
Nathan said the only breeding facility in the world that has had any success in producing Sumatran rhino calves in captivity is the Cincinnati Zoo in the United States, which has produced three calves over the last decade.
"Our priority of course is to have natural mating in the first place but at the moment we only have one male rhino in captivity and Gelegub is the only other viable female that we have," he told AFP.
"It is critical that we try and get the rhinos to reproduce as there are only 50 such rhinos in the region and without reproduction, they face imminent extinction."
Nathan said Gelegub will be injected with hormones in November to stimulate the production of eggs, which will be removed and fertilised, hopefully producing viable embryos for implantation.
Spare embryos will be frozen for implantation in surrogates at a later date.
Between 30 to 50 of the Borneo sub-species of the Sumatran rhinos are known to remain in the wild in Borneo -- a vast island shared by Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei.
It is distinguished from other Sumatran rhinos by its relatively small size, small teeth and distinctively shaped head.
Only 150 to 300 Sumatran rhino are known to exist in the wild, making it one of the world's most endangered species, with only small groups left on Indonesia's Sumatra island, the north of Borneo and peninsular Malaysia.
Rhino experts trying to impregnate old Gelegub
New Straits Times 23 Sep 10;
LAHAD DATU: Gelegub may be an "old girl" at 28 years but this is not stopping wildlife authorities from using the female Sumatran rhinoceros in a daring artificial insemination programme.
A team of scientists will be trying to impregnate her with semen from Kertam at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) here in November.
Gelegub, who cannot mate naturally due to her age, arrived at the sanctuary yesterday from the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Kota Kinabalu.
Sabah Wildlife director Dr Laurentius Ambu said the decision to move Gelegub was made after close consultation with local and foreign experts.
"She is too old for natural mating. Local and foreign experts here believe she would still be able to produce viable eggs which can then be fertilised with semen from Kertam."
He said Gelegub needed to be nearby for experts to carry out the artificial insemination properly.
Gelegub was translocated overland by the department's Wildlife Rescue Unit headed by Lok Kawi Wildlife Park veterinarian Dr Rosa Sipangkui.
BRS programme coordinator Dr Sen Nathan said veterinarians would use the electroejaculation, ovarian stimulation, oocyte recovery and invitro fertilisation methods in the effort.
"We will be working very closely with a team of rhino experts from Leibniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research, Germany."
On risks, Nathan said: "As with any medical procedure there are always risks. We will take critical steps to manage these risks. Gelegub's age is our greatest concern. She is an old girl.
"But with experts here for the procedure, I am sure we will be able to give the rhino the best standard of care possible."
There are believed to be only 50 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild in Borneo.
The state Wildlife Department is also working with the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora)), World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the Leipzig Zoo to increase the rhino population.
The BRS programme is jointly funded by the Sabah government and Yayasan Sime Darby.
