Malaysia: Experts want Sumatra and Borneo rhinos to be conserved as single unit

New Straits Times 16 May 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Sumatran rhinos in Sumatra and Borneo should be conserved as a single unit, according to experts in Sabah. With a population as little as 100 left in Indonesia and Malaysia, consolidated efforts are needed to ensure the its survival.

The species, which have minimal genetic differences, are not conserved as a single unit because it is found in different locations.

This was asserted in a study by the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Wildlife and National Parks Department, the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora), Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

The paper was recently published in the science journal Oryx.

Lead author and DGFC director Dr Benoit Goosens said the differences between the species found in Sumatra and Borneo were minimal and this did not justify keeping the populations found in both locations as separate management units.

In a similar scenario, the Javan rhinos found in Ujong Kulon, Indonesia, and Cat Tien, Vietnam, were conserved as different units.

Despite slight genetic differences, it had been proposed that the Indonesian and Vietnamese governments should consider exchanging the rhinos to raise its population.

"But no action was taken and in Cat Tien National Park, the last animal was found dead in April 2010. We certainly do not want the same thing to happen to the Sumatran rhinoceros," Goosens said.

Experts: Malaysia and Indonesia should team up to breed rhinos
Ruben Sario The Star 16 May 13;

KOTA KINABALU: Wildlife researchers are pushing for a more cohesive effort between Malaysia and Indonesia to conserve the critically endangered Sumatran rhino.

With fewer than 100 animals left in Sumatra and Borneo, scientists are proposing that the population be managed as a single conservation unit.

The Sumatran rhino is found in Sumatra and possibly Kalimantan in Indonesia and Sabah in Malaysia.

“Although habitat loss and poaching are reasons for the decline, the reproductive isolation of the mammals, which are too sparsely scattered even within protected areas, is the main threat to the survival of the species,” said wildlife research NGO Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) executive director Dr Junaidi Payne.

He is the co-author of a paper published this week in the scientific journal Oryx, in which researchers demonstrate the necessity to consider the remaining populations of Sumatran rhinoceros in Sumatra and Borneo as a single conservation unit.

The paper was the outcome of a joint study by BORA, the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Department of Wildlife and National Parks, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Cardiff University and Danau Girang Field Centre (DGFC).

DGFC director Dr Benoit Goossens, the paper's lead author, said the genetic differences are minimal and do not justify keeping the Sumatran and Bornean populations as separate management units.

A study of the Javan rhinoceros showed low genetic diversity in that population and there was a critical need for population expansion for the species to survive, Dr Goosens added.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu said state authorities are working with researchers.

“We understand the need to exchange gametes between Malaysia and Indonesia.

“Actions to initiate genome resource banking and artificial insemination or in vitro fertilisation are under way in Sabah and elsewhere,” said Dr Laurentius.

He said it is considering sending Tam, a captive male rhinoceros, to Cincinnati Zoo in the United States to breed with a mature female.