LESS THAN 100 LEFT: Difficulty in getting rhinos to conceive is the biggest challenge in conservation efforts, Olivia Miwil writes.
ALL the remaining rhinos in Malaysia and Indonesia, which number less than 100, should be managed as a single population to facilitate the reproduction of the critically-endangered species.
Researchers believe only a few of the species are left in Malaysia. Two females, Puntong and Iman, and a middle-aged male named Kertam have been relocated to the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, Sabah.
Puntong, 20, had its front left foot torn off in a hunter’s snare trap when she was an infant while Iman is the last wild rhino captured in Danum Valley in 2014.
Both have problems conceiving manually due to the conditions of their reproductive system.
Iman, despite being diagnosed with severe fibroids in the uterus, can still produce eggs.
Sabah-based Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Datuk Dr John Payne said over a period of two and a half year, 15 Sumatran rhino eggs have been obtained from the Iman and Puntong.
The role of the Bora is to care for rhinos held in the sanctuary, to seek and capture any last rhinos that might exist in the wild.
All rhinos eggs have been used for in-vitro fertilisation efforts but have yet to yield results.
“We need more females in the program to secure the first embryo and work out all the necessary protocols and conditions for success,” he says.
Payne says many factors affect the success of fertilisation, including the old age or poor quality of sperms and eggs and others which are similar in humans with infertility problems.
Other factors that may take into consideration are the optimum pH, ideal temperature, cation and protein requirements on egg maturation liquid during the procedures done at laboratory.
For the male’s part, its sperms can be frozen with liquid nitrogen, which can be used later for the in-vitro fertilisation.
Payne says even though about a quarter of all remaining Sumatran rhinos have significant fertility issues, efforts to to boost the rate are in the pipeline through advanced technology and cellular technologies.
“We should not rely on hope to save the endangered species in the wild because for the past few decades there have been too few individuals in any one area to form a viable breeding population,” he said, quashing recent report by a researcher on the possible discovery of a rhino footprint in Danum valley conservation area.
Last year, Malaysia declared that there were no Sumatran rhinos surviving in the wild.
Since 2006, World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia had its experienced field team searching for footprints, and tens of thousands of hours of camera trap nights but there was none to be found.
However, during a survey between Aug 16 and 29 at the conservation area, WWF Sabah Terrestrial Conservation Programme manager Sharon Koh Pei Hui had said the spotted a 23-centimeter wide footprint and suggested the evidence could be belonged to a Sumatran rhino.
Payne had been quoted saying that it was inconceivable that a half tonne of mammal would leave a vague outline of a single footprint and no other sign in the vicinity.
Sabah Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said discussions with Indonesian counterpart was underway to cooperate on rhino breeding.
He says government is committed to conserving the critically endangered species.
“The in-vitro fertilisation requires experts and high technology to increase the success rate.
“For now, we are relying expertise from Germany, thus the cost for each fertilisation attempt is about RM300,000,” Augustine added.
Federal government had allocated RM11.9 million meant to support advanced reproductive technology for the rhinos.
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