Hidden cameras reveal rare Sumatran rhino
Caught on camera: A Sumatran Rhino, thought to have died out in the Indonesian part of Borneo, soaks in a mud pool in the jungle of Kutai Barat, East Kalimantan. Photo: AFP/WWF/PHKA
Hidden cameras have captured images of the critically endangered Sumatran rhino on the Indonesian part of Borneo island, where it was thought to have long ago died out, the WWF said on Wednesday.
Sixteen camera traps – remote-controlled cameras with motion sensors frequently used in ecological research – filmed the rhino walking through the forest and wallowing in mud in Kutai Barat, East Kalimantan province.
The footage, filmed on June 23, June 30 and August 3, is believed to show different rhinos, although WWF said confirmation of this will require further study.
There were once Sumatran rhinos all over Borneo but their numbers have dwindled dramatically and they were thought to exist only on the Malaysian part of the island.
But the latest research, a joint effort between the WWF and authorities in Kutai Barat, shows the animal is still present on Indonesian territory.
Borneo is the world's third-largest island and is shared between Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei.
The research was unveiled at the start of an international meeting on efforts to protect rhinos in Bandar Lampung on Indonesia's western island of Sumatra, with governments from Bhutan, Indonesia, India, Malaysia and Nepal represented.
There are estimated to be fewer than 275 Sumatran rhinos remaining in the wild, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).
Poaching is considered the main reason for the dramatic decline in numbers, with the rhino's horn and some of its other body parts considered highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine.
Agence France-Presse
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