Sumatran Rhino news thread

[Coelacanth18]

Article :

Worst-case scenario: There could be only 30 wild Sumatran rhinos left

If they don’t consolidate the remaining animals into one location, the species will almost definitely go extinct. In the present situation, none of those populations are viable; from what Haerudin says, it appears they have all been on the decline for a while and are not going to recover on their own.

 

[Sarus Crane]

What about the Northern Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis)? Burma (now Myanmar) has been closed off for many years and there were rumors that some still might survive inside Tamanthi Wildlife Reserve in the northern part of the country.

 

[vogelcommando]

Sumatran rhino seemed to be doomed already a little longer..... :

The Sumatran Rhino Has Been on The Brink of Extinction For 10,000 Years

 

[Sarus Crane]

Sumatran rhino seemed to be doomed already a little longer..... :

The Sumatran Rhino Has Been on The Brink of Extinction For 10,000 Years

Wow! That makes me feel even more lucky to have seen Emi & Andalas at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2002.

 

[Fallax]

That is quite interesting. It is very sad though, I hope we can possibly save this species..

 

[Chlidonias]

Sumatran rhino seemed to be doomed already a little longer..... :

The Sumatran Rhino Has Been on The Brink of Extinction For 10,000 Years

The paper is here, and much more interesting than the popular article: http://www.cell.com/current-biology/fulltext/S0960-9822(17)31466-5

 

[vogelcommando]

And again bad news.......... :

Malaysia's last female Sumatran rhino has cancer.. and the prognosis isn't good

 

[vogelcommando]

Intresting story about a specimen at the Zoological Museum of Hamburg :

Museum specimens as Noah’s Arc of lost genes. The case of a rhinoceros from Sumatra in the Zoological Museum Hamburg

 

[SealPup]

The story about the rhino having cancer shows why museums are Noah's Arks of lost genes: the longer into the decline of a species, the worse its genetic state is likely to be. Risk of cancer has a hereditary component, and cloning a sick rhino will not preserve or de-extinct the species in the long run. Maybe aDNA from subfossil rhinos will be more valuable still, though it needs patching up with DNA from living or museum rhinos. Of course you can patch up Iman's DNA to remove bad genes if you were cloning her, assuming such a gene can be identified.

 

[Giant Panda]

Article :

Worst-case scenario: There could be only 30 wild Sumatran rhinos left

This was the first in a four-part series on the status of the Sumatran rhino. Really worth reading.

Part 2: Where, oh where, are the rhinos of Bukit Barisan Selatan?
Part 3: Is anyone going to save the Sumatran rhino?
Part 4: The fate of the Sumatran rhino is in the Indonesian government’s hands

 

[vogelcommando]

Update about Iman :

The latest on the fight to save Sumatran rhino Iman

 

[vogelcommando]

Article about the little hope for this species .... :

Sumatran rhinos nearing extinction due to farming, hunting

 

[DesertRhino150]

Indonesia has sent a memorandum of understanding to the Malaysian government regarding a sperm transfer with the aim of breeding Malaysia's last-known female Sumatran rhinoceros. It is expected that Malaysia will sign the agreement in mid-May.

More information below:
Signoff on rhino sperm transfer between Indonesia, Malaysia expected mid-May: Official

 

[CaliHans]

According to this article another female have been found in the West Kutai Regency of East Kalimantan, there is plans to try and capture it as the forest is likely to be cleared. There is still a chance to save the Sumatran rhino (commentary).

 

[DesertRhino150]

I have just seen this interesting commentary about the initial attempts to start the Sumatran rhinoceros breeding programme and why it was so unsuccessful at first.

A herd of dead rhinos

 

[Panthera1981]

I have just seen this interesting commentary about the initial attempts to start the Sumatran rhinoceros breeding programme and why it was so unsuccessful at first.

A herd of dead rhinos

Very interesting indeed!

The article mentions that 2 UK zoos were originally part of the program. Port Lympne was one but who was the other?

 

[Jurek7]

Sad is that once zoos learned how to keep Sumatran Rhinos, this knowledge stays forever. But there is no more drive to keep rhinos in zoos...

 

[DesertRhino150]

There has been a second article released about how the Sumatran rhino breeding programme saw its first success in Cincinnati and all the work that went into it. Just as interesting as the previous article, I think.

The great rhino U-turn

 

[Pertinax]

Very interesting indeed!

The article mentions that 2 UK zoos were originally part of the program. Port Lympne was one but who was the other?

I think it may be referring to Port Lympne and its sister park Howletts, rather than any seperate zoo. Only Port Lympne had them of course.

 

[Jurek7]

Can somebody provide a list of all currently living Sumatran Rhinos: captive ones individually, and wild ones as a reserve, number of individuals and source?