Joint forces to prevent extinction world’s smallest rhino

The Sabah rhino population has sunk to less than 50 individuals. Photo credit Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin

November 2009. International scientists have launched an extensive programme to protect the Sabah rhino, together with the Malaysian government.

A species on the brink of extinction
The Sabah rhino population, a subspecies of the Sumatran rhino, has dropped to less than 50 individuals. In an attempt to save the species, scientists from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, working in collaboration with Zoo Leipzig, the Sabah Wildlife Department (SWD) and the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), have started an extensive conservation programme to protect and breed these impressive mammals.

"The Sabah rhino is our heritage, we need all the expertise we can get to safeguard the Sabah rhinos from extinction" said Datuk Masidi Manjun, Minister of Tourism, Culture and Environment from Sabah. The rhino is an indicator-species for an intact ecosystem - the "lowland rain forest". If this "umbrella species" goes extinct, scores of other species living under the "ecological protection" of the Sabah rhino will disappear as well.

World's smallest rhino
The Sabah rhino is the smallest rhino in the world measuring just 1.3 metres at the shoulder. It lives primarily in the lowland rain forests of Sabah on the island of Borneo. However, large areas of its habitat have disappeared under palm oil plantations, which has fragmented the landscape, making reproductive contact between individuals difficult.

The Malaysian government, in cooperation with the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), has begun to build a breeding station where individual rhinos from the wild can be brought together in a kind of breeding sanctuary.

"The next step is to determine whether the animals are fertile", says Dr Petra Kretzschmar from the IZW. "We have evidence from reproductive assessments in Sabah rhinos that they have reduced fertility".

Artificial insemination
Swift action is necessary for the success of the Sabah rhino breeding programme. Researchers plan to combine natural breeding with artificial insemination using advanced assisted reproductive techniques. Reproductive assistance will involve the IZW veterinarian specialist team lead by Dr. Thomas Hildebrandt, whose expertise has already delivered outstanding results in breeding captive rhinos. Zoo Leipzig will contribute their skills in animal husbandry and training local staff in handling the animals.

Protection for free ranging rhinos
Project partners have also agreed that protection of the remaining free ranging rhinos and their lowland rain forest habitat, are a crucial part of this project. To meet this task, a local and international awareness programme will be developed to help educate the public and provide funding for sustained management.