Borneo rhinos have walked the earth for millions of years, yet the modern population stands at less than 40 individuals. Can the littlest rhino be saved?
First-ever photo of a rare Borneo rhino in the wild.
In year 2006, Scientists have captured the first-ever photo of the extremely endangered Borneo rhinoceros in the wild.
Conservationists believe the newly photographed rhino is one of the few of these beasts remaining in the wild, and probably belongs to the small population of 13 discovered in 2005 in the interior forests of Sabah, Malaysia, which was the first confirmed sighting in 20 years.
Rhinos Threats: Vanishing Home
A Sumatran Rhino
The Borneo Rhinoceros is in fact one of three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and is critically endangered, with less than 40 individuals left in the wild in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo. Sumatran rhinos were once widespread throughout Southern and South Eastern Asia, but they are now found only in isolated patches of forest in Peninsular Malaysia, Borneo, Sumatra and possibly Myanmar, although current political situations have prevented detailed study here.
Many centuries of overhunting this slow breeding mammal, coupled with dramatic habitat loss have reduced the numbers and range of Sumatran rhinos to a tiny fraction of their former distribution. The species is now regionally extinct in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, India, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Thailand and Viet Nam. However poaching activities continue, particularly to supply a demand for traditional Chinese medicines despite zero evidence of rhino horn possessing any significant medicinal properties.
Both Malaysian and Indonesian rainforest are still under threat from both legal and illegal logging, threatening further displacement of rhinos and fragmentation of their habitat. Borneo rhinoceroses are particularly threatened by their low population density; very few individuals existing in isolated pockets of forest, making it unlikely that fertile individuals will come together for breeding purposes.
How to Help Rhinos
Never buy goods made from rhino horn, or any other wild animal product for that matter and discourage friends and family from doing the same.
Report anyone who offers wildlife products for sale –it is not only the Borneo rhino that suffers as a result of this trade. Hundreds of other species are threatened with extinction due to the illegal wildlife trade.
Support organisations such as the WWF and BORA in their vital work to save species from extinction.
Spread the word –rhino horn is not medicine. There is no evidence that rhino horn is a remedy for any medical condition.
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