Good news for the Sumatran rhino
Source: ENN
WWF researchers are celebrating the first live sighting of a Sumatran rhino in Kalimantan, the Indonesia part of Borneo, since it was thought to be extinct there. This is also the first physical contact with the species in the area for over 40 years and is a major milestone for rhino conservation in Indonesia.
The female Sumatran rhino, which is estimated to be between four and five years old, was safely captured in a pit trap in Kutai Barat in East Kalimantan on 12 March.
This is an exciting discovery and a major conservation success, said Dr Efransjah, CEO of WWF-Indonesia. We now have proof that a species once thought extinct in Kalimantan still roams the forests, and we will now strengthen our efforts to protect this extraordinary species.
In 2013, a WWF survey team first found evidence that the species was not extinct in Kalimantan by identifying footprints and capturing an image of a rhino on a camera trap in the same forest. Since then,15 Sumatran rhinos have been identified in three populations in Kutai Barat.
A little more at link.
Sumatran rhino image via Shutterstock
Read more: http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/49434
tomm2thumbs
(13,297 posts)wow!!!
elljay
(1,178 posts)I'm sure that this news will bring out the poachers and dentists........ this may be their last chance to prove their manhood by slaughtering this rare creature.
reddread
(6,896 posts)Overseas
(12,121 posts)Judi Lynn
(160,481 posts)flvegan
(64,407 posts)Just stating a fact.