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| Location: |
World |
| Subject: |
Management - Programs |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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Rhino Protection Units. The Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) continue to operate in all areas where the species is known to survive in Indonesia and Peninsula Malaysia. Recruitment of additional resources is making it possible to increase the number of RPUs in some areas. In Way Kambas, Indonesia, the number will increase from four to five; in Peninsula Malaysia, two more RPUs are being added for the buffer area outside Taman Negara National Park to interdict poachers before they can even enter the park. The Indonesia Rhino Conservation Program, which manages the RPUS, is also conducting a training course for the anti-poach.ing teams that operate in Gunung Leuser as part of the Leuser Development Project, supported by the European Union. Funds for the RPUs in Indonesia outside Gunung Leuser continue to be provided mainly by a consortium of donors: the International Rhino Foundation, WWF-IP (through donations from other WWF national organizations including WWF-US, WWF-UK, WWF-Switzerland), the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Fund of the US Fish and Wildlife Service, the Anna Merz Trust, and the AAZK (American Association of Zoo Keepers) Bowling for Rhinos Programs. Funds for the Gunung Leuser RPUs are provided by the European Union. Funds for the RPUs in Peninsula Malaysia are provided by the International Rhino Foundation and the Rhino and Tiger Conservation Fund.
RPU activity in Sabah appears about to intensify through combined efforts of the Sabah Wildlife Department, WWF-Malaysia, SOS-Rhino, the International Rhino Foundation, and AsRSG.
The managed breeding program is progressing significantly. The female at the Cincinnati Zoo seems to be sustaining her pregnancy this time, her sixth, perhaps because of the progesterone supplementation she is receiving. This treatment was recommended by the March 2000 workshop, as discussed in Pachyderm in the last Chair report. The pregnancy is now at 200+ days, over twice as long as before and over one-third of the way through the gestation period.
Elsewhere, in Peninsula Malaysia, three females have recently copulated at the Sumatran Rhino Conservation Centre-Sungai Dusun. The centre is managing to introduce males and females through a combination of methods developed at the Cincinnati Zoo and blood hormone analyses. Mr Steve Romo, the head rhino keeper at the Cincinnati Zoo, has been at Sungai Dusun for the last six months assisting with these efforts.
More intensive reproductive monitoring of the rhino in Way Kambas Sumatran Rhino Sanctuarymanaged breeding centre in Indonesia will commence in November. The monitoring will include ultrasonic examinations. An expanded program will also commence at the Sepilok Rhino Breeding Centre in Sabah in November, with assistance provided by SOS Rhino. All these activities and developments are also an outcome of the recommendations of the March 2000 workshop.
The Malaysian Rhino Foundation, a private NGO, is being established to facilitate and coordinate recruitment and administration of additional funds for rhino conservation in Malaysia. ASRSG Chair Mohd Khan is the prime mover of this effort.
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Asian Rhino Specialist Group report
File available
details
Original text on this topic: