Recently Discovered Sumatran Rhino Dies In Captivity
Less than a month after being discovered and captured, a rare Sumatran rhino has died. According to Indonesian environmental officials, the female rhino died of an infection to her leg. Arnold Sitompul WWF’s Indonesian conservation director says the death it still being investigated however it appears as if the infection was severe and was most likely caused by snares from an earlier poaching event. The death is tragic because the rhino’s discovery was hailed as a success as the species had thought to be extinct in the region.
“This demonstrates the threats faced by the Sumatran rhino and underscores why we need to continue our efforts with the strong support of the government and other experts to save the remaining population of Sumatran rhinos in the area,” Mr. Sitompul said.
Numbers have declined dramatically
Of the five species of rhinoceros, the Sumatran rhino is the smallest and hairiest. Sumatran rhinos were once ubiquitous throughout South-East Asia, however poaching and habitat destruction caused by agriculture and mining has resulted in a dramatic fall in their numbers. Last year they were declared by the Malaysian part of Borneo as being extinct in the wild. Conservationists could not tell whether the elusive species sill lived in Indonesian Borneo. In 2013 however camera traps captured images of one and it was estimated that roughly 15 of the animals lived in Indonesian Borneo whilst another 85 lived in Sumatra.
Amazingly in March humans found a Sumatran rhino in Indonesian Borneo for the first time in over 4 decades when the animal fell into a pit trap. WWF lauded the capture as being a huge achievement for Indonesian rhino conservation.
“This is an exciting discovery and a major conservation success,” Efransjah, the chief executive of WWF-Indonesia, said at the time. “We now have proof that a species once thought extinct in Kalimantan still roams the forests, and we will now strengthen our efforts to protect this extraordinary species.”
Death might have been prevented
At the time WWF said the rhino would be transported by helicopter to a protected forest roughly 90 miles away. It was intended for the forest to become Indonesia’s second Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. The International Rhino Foundation which also participates in managing Indonesia’s existing Sumatran rhino factory expressed its anguish at the captured rhino’s death in a post on Facebook. The organisation said the death could have been prevented had the animal been taken to the established facility.
