MY) rhinos extinct

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2007/07/05

Experts link low sperm count to rhinos going extinct-New Straits TImes

 

KOTA KINABALU, Thurs:

 

Low sperm count among the male Sumatran rhinoceros in Sabah may be the

reason why it's going extinct.

To compound the problem, experts have also found that many female

rhinos have cysts in their reproductive organs.

 

These were among the observations recorded in a three-year study

spearheaded by the State Wildlife Department here.

 

" That is the current direction of our ongoing studies but we are

curious to learn more, " said deputy Wildlife Department director

Laurentius Ambu yesterday.

 

Ambu said while many would tend to link the conditions affecting the

rhinos' reproduction capabilities to their diet, the department was

more inclined to believe that their habitat had something to do with

it.

" Maybe because they live in fragmented locations deep in the jungles

and because of that, they rarely get the opportunity to mate. This may

probably affect their reproductive ability. "

 

 

 

Ambu said the department estimated that there were between 30 to 50

rhinos left in the jungles of Sabah. Most of them are in the Tabin

Wildife Sanctuary and Danum Valley, in the district of Lahad Datu.

 

The topic would be among the highlights of the two-day 4th Sumatran

Rhinoceros Conservation Workshop which begins here today.

 

" The workshop will include talks from experts from the department,

Universiti Malaysia Sabah as well as NGOs like SOS Rhinos Borneo and

World Wide Fund for Nature Malaysia. "

 

He said while there were still rhinos which were reproducing, as seen

from evidence of young animals, its worst enemy which could lead to

its extinction was its own inability to reproduce.

 

" Scientists from as far as Germany, the US or even our own experts

find this intriguing. It's a mystery. " he said.

 

" It's more to do with the conversion of land. Forested areas are

split, hence trapping some animals in different locations and this

causes the fragmentation. "

 

Ambu said the authorities had tried to implement captive breeding but

it had failed. " We try our best to allow the rhinos to breed

naturally, " he said.