ACEH BESAR, Indonesia — A Sumatran elephant calf has died days after conservation officials in Indonesia amputated half of her trunk due to severe injuries from a suspected snare trap. The female calf had been found alone and severely wounded by locals in Aceh Jaya district, in northern Sumatra, and handed over to the provincial […]
Tag: sumatran rhinos

Work starts on new sanctuary for captive breeding of Sumatran rhinos
JAKARTA — Conservation officials in Indonesia have broken ground on a new sanctuary for Sumatran rhinos, part of ongoing efforts to breed the critically endangered species in captivity and stave off its extinction. The groundbreaking for the facility took place on Nov. 11 inside the Leuser Ecosystem in East Aceh district, in Aceh province at […]

Development of third Sumatran rhino sanctuary advances to save species
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — The development of a highly anticipated captive-breeding facility for Sumatran rhinos in Indonesia’s Aceh province is advancing as part of conservation efforts to save the nearly extinct species. The planned facility, the third in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) network, is one of Indonesia’s top strategies to help prevent the global […]

Sumatran rhinos show low inbreeding — but when it happens, collapse is quick
The outlook is bleak for Sumatran rhinos. Decades of poaching and habitat loss have precipitated a steep population decline. Once found across Southeast Asia, from the Himalayan foothills to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, the critically endangered species, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, is now only found in Indonesia. Conservationists estimate that fewer than 100 individuals survive […]

Letter to the Editor: The Sumatran rhinoceros conservation to be classified a status of emergency and a protocol applied accordingly
The Sumatran rhinoceros Dicerorhinus sumatrensis is on the verge of extinction. Decades of well intentioned, “politically correct”, conservation activities have not changed its demise’ trend. Moreover a reversal of the situation is not going to happen in a few years unless the policy is changed. Due to a persistent status quo no rhino’s captures (but […]

Planned road projects threaten Sumatran rhino habitat, experts say
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — Conservationists are calling for a Sumatran rhino habitat at the northern tip of the Indonesian island to be fully protected from planned road-construction projects. Officials in the province of Aceh have allocated 2.4 trillion rupiah ($164 million) for the development of 12 roads across the province through 2022. Governor Nova Iriansyah […]

Marcellus Adi Riyanto: The Indonesian vet who lived for the Sumatran rhino
Camera traps monitor a handful of the world’s remaining Sumatran rhinos in Sumatra’s Way Kambas National Park. Wildlife managers tend to a female rhino at a breeding center in Kalimantan, the Indonesian portion of the island of Borneo, hoping she can help ensure a future for this critically endangered species. Like many efforts to protect […]

A new sanctuary for the Sumatran rhino is delayed amid COVID-19 measures
BANDA ACEH, Indonesia — A much-anticipated plan to establish a new rhino-breeding sanctuary in northern Sumatra is one of many that has been put on hold in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The proposed facility is atop priority for Indonesia’s conservation plan to rescue the world’s last remaining Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) through a […]