10
Seven teams, each assigned an area of 12-20 sq. miles to patrol over 10 days. [After survey] All 7 teams had found evidence of rhinos having been in their areas in the past, but only two found signs of recent activity. One of those had been dropped off in the most remote site of the study area, the other never left the research station. Evidence of 3 different rhinos were found at each of these sites. If this distribution was representative of the entire forest block, there could be as many as 23 rhinos scattered thoughout the 400 sq.miles. Every survey team found indications of human intrusion.
20 +
For more than 10 years, scientists and experts had believed that only two areas in Borneo contained viable populations: Tabin Wildlife reserve amd Danum Valley region, both in SE Sabah.
Government officials were considering legal protection and expansion of the Danum Valley Conservation Area, a stretch of virgin rainforest administered by a quasi-government organization called the Sabah Foundation. Part of a large timber concession that had been temporarily set aside for forest research, Danum Valley was recognized as one of the last areas of hope for the Sumatran rhino
If rhinos range widely, as is currently believed, it is probably due more to hunting pressures than to ecological needs.
To implement the breeding of rhinos in captivity, the Sumatran Rhino Trust was set up in 1985 between the U.S. amd Indonesia zoo communities. Fter 8 years and an expenditure of nearly 3 million dollars, this well-intended effort to bring together and breed wild-caught Sumatran rhinos both in Indonesia and US failed to produce a single off-spring. Continually undermined by politics, greed and corruption, the trsut was finally disbanded in 1993. Attempts by Malaysia to carry out a similar breeding programme have also failed. There has been no lack of effort put into redrafting the Indonesian Rhino Conservation strategy and the Malaysian Rhino Conservation Plan. Noth plans now call for large inputs of money for action that should have been taken all along: finding out where the remaining wild popualtions of Sumatran rhino are and protecting the,. Yet, even with additional funds, the chances that these countries will suddenly start to do what they should have done long ago are slim at best.
The best way to accurately determine Sumatran rhino densities is extensive patrolling of a single, large study site over a long period of time. Only short time available. Unpredictable weather presented the biggest problem. The ground had to be wet enough so that we could find clear footprints. Continual heavy rains would slow us down and wash away prints before we could see them. When rhinos use an area, they create wide and obvious 'highways' along ridges and waterways, often with distinctive scrape marks and dung deposits. They follow these well established paths repeatedly and over long distances. As rhinos travel, they spend time feeding on leaves, stems and twigs, leaving behind broken and twisted saplings and heavily trampled undergrowth. Rhinos also use salt licks and mineral springs, which are often located close to waterways where the soft ground allows easy identification. Another distinctive trait is the habit of taking mud baths several times a day. Where they travel regularly, rhinos make wallows, or depressions in the soil, that often take on the shape of the animal. These wallows are filled with a clay 'broth' that covers the rhino's body with a layer of mud, which keeps the animal's skin moist and protects it against biting insects. After leaving wallows, rhinos rub their heads and bodies on trees nearby, leaving unmistakable marks.
Changing people's attitudes toward medicinal wildlife products must be done in a way that neither denigrates traditional beliefs nor tries to coerce people into new beliefs. Such an approach must be based on a sensitivity and understanding of local community needs. Media campaigns and educational programs carried out by respected members of local communities can succeed in promoting a greater understanding about medicinal alternatives, while explaining the inevitable outcome of current practices - the extinction of precious native wildlife species. This approach, while time-consuming, is the only hope for the long-term survival of each species.
When rhinos use an area, they create wide and obvious 'highways' along ridges and waterways, often with distinctive scrape marks and dung deposits. They follow these well established paths repeatedly and over long distances. As rhinos travel, they spend time feeding on leaves, stems and twigs, leaving behind broken and twisted saplings and heavily trampled undergrowth.
A high-pitched squeal put me on guard as the rhino turned his head in my direction. It was a strange, almost childlike sound coming from such a large animal.
Rhinos also use salt licks and mineral springs, which are often located close to waterways where the soft ground allows easy identification.
Another distinctive trait is the habit of taking mud baths several times a day. Where they travel regularly, rhinos make wallows, or depressions in the soil, that often take on the shape of the animal. These wallows are filled with a clay 'broth' that covers the rhino's body with a layer of mud, which keeps the animal's skin moist and protects it against biting insects. After leaving wallows, rhinos rub their heads and bodies on trees nearby, leaving unmistakable marks.
