September 22 was World Rhino Day. Rhinos were once widespread across Asia and Africa and even in Europe, where they are depicted on cave paintings. Today their situation is precarious. The world population of the northern white rhino now consists of three individuals. Sudan, the last surviving male, is now beyond breeding age. He and […]
Tag: sumatran rhinos
15 Bornean rhinos discovered in Kalimantan?
Indonesia’s environment and forestry ministry will convert a former gold mining site into a sanctuary for the Sumatran rhinoceros in East Kalimantan province, after conservationists identified 15 of the critically endangered creatures in the area. The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) was until recently believed to be extinct in Kalimantan. Then in 2013, scientists on an […]
Komodo dragon: one of Indonesia’s rare conservation success stories
The Komodo dragon – that giant monitor lizard inhabiting a few islands in Eastern Indonesia – is an exception. Biologically-speaking, of course, it is the world’s largest lizard, and a last survivor of monster lizards (bigger even than the Komodo) that once roamed a good portion of both Indonesia and Australia. But the Komodo dragon […]
5 men rescued, 1 killed, after 5-day Sumatran tiger standoff
Five men were finally rescued on Monday after spending five days trapped in a tree by a group of Sumatran tigers. A team of around 30 people rescued the men after several tiger tamers were able to lure the animals away using chants and mantras. The men were attacked inside Aceh’s Gunung Leuser National Park […]
Industry, fires and poachers shrink Sumatran tigers’ last stronghold
Karman Lubis’s body was found near where he had been working on a Sumatran rubber plantation. His head was found several days later a mile away and they still haven’t found his right hand. He had been mauled by a Sumatran tiger that has been living in Batang Gadis National Park and he was one […]
Facing extinction, conservationists call emergency summit to save Sumatran rhinos
With the number of Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) now under 200 and declining rapidly, a group of conservationists have organized an emergency summit to discuss courses of action to save the world’s smallest remaining rhino from extinction. The Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit is being convened by International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Species Survival […]
