(MY) step to save rhinos

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2007/07/10-New Straits Times

 

The first step to saving rhinos

 

 

It is believed there are only 48 Sumatran rhinos left in the jungles

of Malaysia.

 

 

GRIK:The expedition team of 80 wildlife experts and researchers,

WWF-Malaysia officials and academics will be searching for tracks of

the Sumatran rhinoceros in seven blocks of forests in the Royal Belum

state park.

 

These blocks, measuring between 90 and 100 sq km, have been identified

as areas where the Sumatran rhinos could be found.

 

The team will spend six or seven days in Royal Belum under the

Sumatran Rhino Survey Expedition 2007, which began yesterday.

 

The five-year project, which focuses on rhino rescue, has Honda

Malaysia pledging RM5 million to WWF to enable it to strengthen the

Sumatran rhinocerous conservation efforts.

 

WWF-Malaysia chief executive officer Dr Dionysius S.K. Sharma said the

team would be using geographical information system to track down the

rhinos.

 

Participants would be divided into seven groups of five to 10 members

and deployed to seven areas in Royal Belum to gather ecological and

biological data on the Sumatran rhinos.

 

" This includes searching for rhino footprints, droppings, feeding

signs and mud wallows, which are strong indicators of rhino presence.

 

" The data will enable the team to estimate the minimum number of

rhinos remaining in the park, and to determine the range of habitats

in which the rhinos occur, " Dr Sharma said.

 

Determining the number of rhinos in Royal Belum was the first step in

conservation efforts, he added.

 

In a survey done by the Department of Wildlife and National Parks 10

years ago, there were only 48 Sumatran rhinos left in the jungles, he

said.

 

Of the 48, four were said to be in Belum, five in Danum Valley, Sabah,

and the rest scattered in jungles in the country.