Explorations in Central Borneo

The numbers, never great, were rapidly thinned out once firearms became available inland.

some

probably extinct

Prices rose, and in the 1930's the relics of a rhino were worth a fortune in steel, cloth, and shot to the uplands people. The rhino is easy to track. As it became scarcer and shier, parties followed a track for weeks on end along the ranges.

I saw a fresh track on the 5000 feet divide between the Poedjoengan and Kayan Rivers in October 1945.

Pigmy Rhinoceros

Horn is used as aphrodisiac

Borneo. The rhino has a habit of breaking down small trees for the leaves.

Borneo. The rhino has a habit of breaking down small trees for the leaves.

The horn is valued by the Chinese for medical and aphrodisiac purposes.