17/03/2006 - Gland, Switzerland
– A field survey in the Malaysian state
of Sabah and analysis of data on historical
rhino habitat have found that poaching has
significantly reduced Borneo’s population
of Sumatran rhinos in recent years, but
a small group of rhinos continues to survive
in the “Heart of Borneo”, a region covered
with vast tracts of rainforest. The survey
— conducted in 2005 by teams of more than
100 field staff from WWF, local wildlife
officials and others — found evidence of
at least 13 rhinos in the interior of Sabah.
“Poaching has decimated Borneo’s once-healthy
rhino population, but we were heartened
to find that a few individuals have managed
to cling to survival,” said Raymond Alfred
of WWF-Malaysia. “Conservationists and Sabah
government agencies are working hard to
ensure this small population is protected
and can grow.”
In addition to the 13 rhinos found in the
interior of Sabah, scattered individuals
still survive as well in other parts of
Sabah that weren’t covered by the study.
Previous estimates of rhino numbers had
suggested there were 30 to 70 rhinos on
the island of Borneo, all in Sabah. Populations
on the Indonesian side of the island and
in the Malaysian state of Sarawak are believed
to be extinct.
There are believed to be fewer than 300
Sumatran rhinos left in the world and they
are considered one of the most endangered
rhino species because of the intensity of
poaching. Rhino numbers globally have been
devastated because rhino horn carries a
high price on the black market, where it
is predominantly sold for use in traditional
Asian medicines.
As poaching is such a threat to this species,
the survey results were not released until
strong protection measures could be put
in place in the areas where the rhinos are
found. Those security measures were recently
installed. WWF-Malaysia and partners last
month launched a five-year project called
“Rhino Rescue” that will organize rhino
protection units and other activities to
deter poaching. Sumatran rhinos are only
found in widely scattered areas across peninsular
Malaysia, Borneo and the Indonesian island
of Sumatra.
“The results from the survey of Borneo’s
rhinos are crucial additions to our scientific
understanding of the species,” said Dr Christy
Williams of WWF’s Asian rhino programme.
“We believe this population may be viable
and could recover if their habitat is protected
and the threat of poaching is eliminated.”
Sabah and the forests of the “Heart of
Borneo” still hold huge tracts of continuous
natural forests, which are some of the most
biologically diverse habitats on Earth,
with high numbers of unique animal and plant
species. This is one of the world’s only
two places – the other being Indonesia’s
Sumatra Island – where orang-utans, elephants
and rhinos still co-exist and where forests
are currently large enough to maintain viable
populations.
WWF aims to assist Borneo's three nations
(Brunei, Indonesia and Malaysia) to conserve
the “Heart of Borneo” – a total of 220,000
sq km of equatorial rainforest – through
a network of protected areas and sustainably
managed forest, and through international
cooperation led by the Bornean governments
and supported by a global effort.
NOTES:
• There is one species of rhino in Borneo,
commonly called the Sumatran rhinoceros
(Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). The Borneo form
of this rhino is considered to be a separate
subspecies (D. S. harrissoni) from the rhinos
on Sumatra and mainland Asia. They feed
on the leaves of a wide variety of seedlings
and young trees. Unlike other rhino species
and other large herbivorous mammals in Borneo
(elephant, wild cattle, deer), the Sumatran
rhino is a strict forest-dweller that ventures
out of forest cover only in unusual situations.
Sumatran rhinos are currently found in peninsular
Malaysia and on the islands of Borneo (Sabah,
Malaysia) and Sumatra (Indonesia).
• The survey of Sabah’s rhinos involved
about 120 people in 16 teams. It was undertaken
by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah
Forestry Department, Sabah Parks, the Sabah
Foundation, WWF-Malaysia, the Kinabatangan
Orang-utan Conservation Project, SOS Rhino,
Universiti Malaysia Sabah and Operation
Raleigh. Also participating in the effort
to protect Borneo’s remaining rhinos are
the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah
Foundation, SOS Rhino and the US Fish and
Wildlife Service.
• Other threatened wildlife in Borneo includes
clouded leopards, sun bears, and three species
of leaf monkeys found nowhere else in the
world. The island is also home to 10 primate
species, more than 350 bird species, 150
reptiles and amphibians and 15,000 plants.
