Ratu, an 8 year-old female Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is seen at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in the Way Kambas National Park, Lampung province. (Photo: Reuters)Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – The Sumatran rhino is now officially extinctin Malaysia after the last surviving individual died in captivity on November24.
The 25-year-old female rhino, named Iman, who has been cared for in a wildlifereserve since her capture in 2014, died of cancer in the state of Sabah onBorneo island, said Augustine Tuuga, director of the Sabah Wildlife Department.
The Sumatranrhino was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015. Malaysia’s lastmale Sumatran rhino died in May this year.
The species has now almost disappeared from the wild, and conservationistsestimate that only about 30 to 80 Sumatran rhinos survive, mostly on theIndonesian island of Sumatra and on the Indonesian side of Borneo.
Their isolation, caused by habitat loss and poaching, means they rarely breedand may become extinct in a matter of decades, according to conservation groupInternational Rhino Foundation.
Since 2011, Malaysia has tried to breed thespecies in captivity through in-vitro fertilization, but without success./.
VNA
