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Sunday, November 23, 2008, 01.25 AM

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Rare rhino gets new home, thanks to Sabah rangers

Jaswinder Kaur
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For years, researchers tracking the rare Sumatran rhinoceros in the wilderness have only managed to catch a glimpse of the elusive creature through camera lenses and video traps.

But on Aug 5, a male rhino walked out of the forest and wandered onto an oil palm plantation on the east coast to the surprise of workers who alerted the Sabah Wildlife and National Parks Department.

The Sabah Wildlife Department's chief field veterinarian Dr Senthilvel Nathan said a team of rangers rescued the rhino and translocated it to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, designated as a sanctuary for the critically endangered species.

"The rhino was obviously injured as it crossed a difficult forest to come out to the flat terrain of the plantation.

"It was a delicate operation. We had to make sure that the rhino was not too stressed by having humans close to it.

"When we first got there, the rhino showed signs of aggression and charged at us, but we kept our distance and left some fruit and leaves for it.

"We also had to make sure that it had enough food and water and was healthy because translocating wildlife can be very stressful for the animal," he said yesterday.

With assistance from SOS Rhino Borneo and WWF-Malaysia field officers, the department's rangers and veterinarians stayed as close as possible to the rhino for 10 days before the translocation.

Senthilvel and his colleague Dr Roza Sipagkui checked the animal to ensure it could survive the four-hour trip to the reserve in Lahad Datu.

"We did not have to sedate the rhino as it was easily coaxed into a wooden container and transported by lorry.

"We had sedatives but the rhino remained remarkably calm throughout the journey."

Rhinos have an acute sense of smell and can sniff out humans half a kilometre away, which explains why no one has spotted the animal in the wild.

There are only an estimated 30 rhinos left in the wild.

Department director Laurentius Ambu said the rescue of the adult male rhino was timely, as his office was addressing the issue of the animal's population by introducing a semi-captive breeding programme at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

The decision to carry out a breeding programme in semi-captivity was made at the state rhino task force, formed following the fourth Sumatran Rhino Conservation Workshop held in July last year.

The state government is raising RM20 million to set up a fully fenced 1,000ha zone for the breeding programme.

Laurentius also commended the quick action of Unico Estate general manager Chew Beng Hock and Temenggong Estate manager Gucharan Singh for contacting the department about the rhino and assisting it in the translocation process.

"The fact that the rhino was not harmed and that the department was informed tells us that people are aware rhinos are fully protected by the law and that they recognise its special status."