Sabah NGO Borneo Rhino Alliance ready to help Kalimantan in saving Sumatran rhinos

KOTA KINABALU: A non-governmental organization in Borneo that has been rescuing critically endangered Sumatran rhinos since 2008 under a program to prevent the species’ extinction, is ready to play a new role with Indonesia.

Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) dedicated to preventing the extinction of the Sumatran rhino, is greatly saddened to learn of the death of Najaq, the first rhino captured in Kalimantan, in recent times.

“Najaq was captured less than 700 kilometers south of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Sabah, so she might even be distantly related to our rhinos,” said Dr John Payne, Executive Director of BORA, the organization entrusted with the care of the last three Malaysian Sumatran rhinos in Sabah.

“We recall the cordial visit of representatives of the government of Indonesia and WWF-Indonesia in early 2015 to observe our captive rhinos.

We would value collaboration with Indonesia through the mutual exchange of information and expertise.

“If Indonesia should so desire, we can bring to the Sabah government the idea of sharing Sabah’s remaining rhinos, or their gametes, in support of Indonesia’s efforts to save this ancient species,” he said.

BORA chairman Dr Abdul Hamid Ahmad applauded the Indonesian government’s decision to rescue the remaining rhinos in Kalimantan.

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Sumatran rhinos living on borrowed time in Sabah

Malaysia has three years left to ensure its Sumatran rhino does not become extinct.

A recent survey showed no new sightings of the mammal in the wild. The country received further devastating news that its three Sumatran rhinos in captivity were not fit enough to breed and produce offspring.

Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Datuk Dr Junaidy Payne is not blaming the possible extinction entirely on poaching, loss of habitat or the lack of commitment, but believes the reasoning was also mainly due to core problems which many refused to admit.

He said one was the “Allee effect’ which is a feature of small populations whereby low density limits population growth, leading to a death rate which is higher than the birth rate.

Secondly, Junaidy blamed the almost non-existent global leadership on the matter.

He said the International Union Conservation of Nature (IUCN), a global body entrusted to find pragmatic solutions to the most pressing environment and development challenges, and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) had not done enough to ensure the Sumatran rhino population in Malaysia, and Sabah in particular, was not affected.

“Now we are left with three Sumatran rhinos, two females and a male, currently in captivity.

“The Sabah and federal governments could have kept this problem quiet, but we choose to make it public that we are losing our Sumatran rhino, especially in the wild.

“Indonesia still has 15, but then again, that’s based on educated guesses. We do not know the exact number.

“These numbers are not many and it’s important for us to act fast and ensure their survival. Otherwise, quoting Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Seri Masidi Manjun, ‘we are facing the prospect of our Sumatran rhinos going extinct in our lifetime’,” said Junaidy when met at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park in Putatan.

He also disclosed that decisions made were not based on facts as many chose to believe that there were still Sumatran rhinos in the wild.

“Today, some are saying there are eight to 10 Sumatran rhinos in the Malaysian wild, but that is only an assumption.

“In reality, we have not seen any new sightings of the mammal in the wild. We only found two five years ago, and then nothing despite all the hard work of setting up cameras in the jungle.”

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Transfer of female rhino found in Danum to Tabin is a success

A rare Sumatran rhino was successfully translocated late afternoon on Friday 21 from a very remote area in Danum Valley, to join a male (Tam) and a female (Puntung) rhinos at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) Facilities in Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

Named Iman, after a small river near where she was caught, her rescue was a result of a year of intense efforts to make every last rhino in Malaysia count towards efforts to prevent the extinction of one of the world’s most critically endangered species.

Datuk Seri Panglima Masidi Manjun, Minister of Culture, Tourism and Environment said “The State Cabinet agreed in March 2013 that the only way we can ensure that every Sumatran rhino in Sabah plays a role to save the species is to bring all of them into a managed, fenced facility, with the necessary local and global expertise and collaboration to breed them”.

“In February this year, the State Cabinet agreed that we should loan our male, Tam, to Cincinnati Zoo for breeding as part of that collaboration. If Iman proves to be fertile, there might be no necessity for Tam to fly to Cincinnati to mate with a ‘foreign bride’.

In fact the State Cabinet approval to send him to the US in the first place was conditional upon our failure to catch a fertile young female rhino at Danum within a reasonable time to mate with Tam,” added Masidi.

“We also hope that with the continued support and expertise on rhino reproductive biology from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife based in Berlin, Germany, we will have baby rhinos very soon,” concluded Masidi.

Sime Darby Foundation’s Chairman, Tun Musa Hitam, who expressed jubilation with Iman’s rescue and successful translocation efforts said “I would like to thank and congratulate everyone involved in this effort. All the hard work has paid off and we have another opportunity to help save this magnificent species from extinction”.

Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu, Director of Sabah Wildlife Department said “The Sumatran rhino is on the verge of extinction in Sabah. Bringing them into captive conditions allows us to maximize the chance that each rhino can help save the species”.

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Sabah in no rush to send rhinos overseas for breeding

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah is in no rush to send its rhinos to zoos abroad for breeding amid fears that the animal faces extinction in Borneo, said Sabah Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun.

He said it would be the state’s last resort to send rhinos overseas for breeding.

“We are looking at all available options and the most important thing is to ensure that these animals will not become extinct,” he said.

“However, to send them overseas will be our last resort,” he said at the Sabah Muslim Cabinet ministers’ Hari Raya open house at Likas Sports Complex on Saturday.

Asked about the growing calls for the near extinct rhinos to be sent to a US zoo for breeding purposes, Masidi said that it was hard to get rhinos to mate due to geographical factors.

“Rhinos are loners. They don’t really move in packs.

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Rhino populations in Sumatra, Borneo should be combined to save Sumatran rhino from extinction

A new study argues for treating endangered Sumatran populations in Borneo and Sumatra as "a single conservation unit", lending academic support to a controversial proposal to move wild rhinos from Malaysia to Indonesia.

The paper, authored by an international team of rhino experts and published in the journal Oryx, says that genetic differences between the island populations are minimal. Given the dire straights of the species — the wild population is estimated at less than 100 individuals — the researchers argue that ensuring the Sumatran rhino's survival takes precedence over preserving what little genetic diversity remains between populations.

"In our paper, we discuss the pros and cons of considering the populations of Sumatran rhinoceros from Sumatra and Borneo as a single management unit," said study lead author Benoit Goossens, Director of the Danau Girang Field Centre in Malaysia, in a statement.

"For a species such as the Sumatran rhinoceros, where time is of the essence in preventing extinction, we must ask to what extent should genetic and geographical distances be taken into account in deciding the most urgently needed conservation interventions."

"Genetic differences are minimal and we strongly believe that the observed differences do not justify keeping the Sumatran and Bornean populations as separate management units."

Goossens pointed to the situation with the Javan rhino as an example of the pitfalls of prioritizing genetic diversity over conservation for a species that is so close to extinction.

"Despite clear results demonstrating that the Ujung Kulon (Indonesia) and Cat Tien (Vietnam) populations represented separate evolutionary significant units it was argued that demographic considerations should override genetic issues in the short term. The Indonesian and Vietnamese governments were urged to exchange Javan rhinoceroses before it was too late. No action was taken and, in Cat Tien National Park, the last individual in Vietnam was found dead in April 2010," Goossens said.

"We certainly do not want the same thing to happen to the Sumatran rhinoceros and we therefore strongly recommend to act now and exchange gametes such as semen and ovocytes (and possibly individuals) between the captive populations of Sumatran rhinoceros in Sabah (Tabin), Sumatra (Way Kambas) and Cincinnati Zoo, when it is still possible."

The paper comes less than two months after conservationists meeting at the Sumatran Rhino Crisis Summit in Singapore agreed on a similar course of action.

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Elephants may have ingested poisons by mistake – Borneo Rhino Alliance

KOTA KINABALU: The poignant high-impact nature of the photos of the dead Borneo pygmy elephants has resulted in natural response that is immediate and emotional, rather than long-term and measured.

“Attention has focused on what caused the elephants to die and who was responsible. Eating something toxic seems likely,” said Borneo Rhino Alliance executive director Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne when contacted yesterday.

“If people want to get rid of elephants for whatever reason, such as destroying crops, then poisoning has appeal. No need for firearms. But toxins may be used to kill pest animals such as pigs and rats, and ingested by mistake by elephants. Some very simple chemicals, not intended for harmful purposes, can be toxic,” he said.

“If the cause of these recent deaths does turn out to be a man-made toxin, then this does point to a need for better voluntary, legal and operational control of the use of all toxic substances at all levels of society.”

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Need for Sumatran Rhinoceros to be in captivity

KOTA KINABALU: Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne yesterday re-iterated the need to bring all wild Sumatran Rhinoceros into captive, professionally managed facilities.

He said the move was to increase prospects of boosting birth rate above death rate.

“This has to be done now before the species goes extinct,” he stressed.

He also said the female Sumatran Rhinoceros, Puntung, that was captured in Tabin last year was found to have significant endometrial cyst growth.

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Sabah protects 700 sq km of rainforest in Borneo

Sabah, a state in Malaysian Borneo, has reclassified 183,000 hectares (700 sq km) of forest zoned for logging concessions as protected areas.

The Sabah Forestry Department recently re-gazetted Ulu Segama Forest Reserve and Northern Gunung Rara — formerly Class 2 commercial forests — as Class 1 protection forests, effectively protecting them from further logging or conversion to plantations.

The reserves border the Danum Valley conservation area, which is world-renown for its research facilities and high levels of biodiversity. Although the area has been selectively logged, it remains key habitat for endangered orangutans, Bornean clouded leopards, Sumatran rhinos, and pygmy elephants, according to conservationists.

“This re-gazettement will serve to secure habitat for Malaysia’s largest orang-utan population, as well as for a wide range of biological diversity,” Marc Ancrenaz, scientific director of Hutan-Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Programme, said in a statement.

“The main merit of this plan is to make it more difficult for any governments in the future to convert the lowland parts of these Forest Reserves to oil palm plantation,” added Junaidi Payne of Borneo Rhino Alliance.

The move boosts Sabah's protected areas to 1.3 million hectares, about 18 percent of its total land area. Oil palm plantations, a major driver of forest conversion in Sabah since the mid-1980s, cover about 1.4 million hectares across the state.

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Hope for a rhino family at Tabin Wildlife Reserve

KOTA KINABALU: A team of veterinarians is treating a female rhino in the east coast Lahad Datu district in the hope that the animal will eventually be able to breed.

Puntung, the sole fertile female Sumatran rhino at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, had been examined and treated in the past several months to improve her chances of conceiving.

Borneo Rhinoceros Alliance (Bora) executive director Dr Junaidi Payne said the examination was carried out by specialist veterinarians from the Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) in Berlin, led by Dr Thomas Hildebrand.

The veterinarian team was roped in after an ultrasound examination on Feb 24 showed that Puntung was suffering from endometrial cyst growth, a painful condition that could hinder the sperm from reaching the ova as well as prevent the implantation of embryos on the uterine wall.

Dr Payne said BRS officials were now deciding whether to let Puntung breed naturally or opt for artificial insemination.

Sabah Wildlife Department rangers had airlifed Puntung from a solitary life on a hill range at Tabin two years ago to be a mate for the male rhino, Ketam, at the sanctuary.

Wildlife conservationists were hoping that both animals would eventually be able to produce an offspring to help save the highly endangered species, of which only an estimated 200 were left in the wild in Sabah and Sumatra.

The Sabah government had initiated the BRS in 2009 to stave off the extinction of the Sumatran rhinos here with Yayasan Sime Darby, contributing RM5mil to the cause over the past three years.

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Saving the Sumatran rhinos from extinction

A foundation and a sanctuary have come together and, like anxious parents, are hoping for the patter of little feet someday — so that the Sumatran rhino can be saved from extinction.

IT is 10 in the morning and Tam is as restless as a child wanting to get out and play. Wilson Kuntil, his keeper, patiently coaxes him to settle down. The 20-year-old rhino paces the floor of his paddock and keeps knocking at the metal gate with the stub of his horn.

Though Wilson has been working at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary for less than a year, he’s already become attached to Tam (short for Kertam) and two other rhinos, females named Puntung and Gelogob. These Sumatran rhinos were captured and translocated to the sanctuary in the hopes of breeding them.

Since the 1980s, efforts to conserve the Sumatran rhinoceros have been an uphill task in this region. Scientists estimate there are only 200 of these rhinos left in the wild with a meagre population of less than 40 in central and east Sabah.

In 2009, the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) began work on curbing the rapid extinction of these animals with the set up of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary within the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, near Lahad Datu in eastern Sabah. The sanctuary now houses these three Sumatran rhinos that were rescued over the past three years, with the latest, Puntung, in December last year.

It is with the help of private funders like Yayasan Sime Darby, which has provided RM5mil over the last three years, that conservation work at the sanctuary has been able to move forward. Bora’s executive director, Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne, says funding was recently extended for another three years with the foundation pledging RM6.4mil more.

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Only 30 Sumatran Rhinos left in Sabah Borneo

KOTA KINABALU: Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun said there are only 200 Sumatran Rhinos left on earth and only 30 of the 200 rhinos are living in Sabah.

He said they were killed for their horns, which were believed to be nutritious.

However, the minister stressed that rhino horns do not carry additional nutrients, as a scientist told him.

In fact, consuming a rhino horn is similar to eating a person’s finger nails, he pointed out.

Masidi said that at the Sime Darby Rhino Walk which was held in conjunction with the Minggu Saham Amanah Malaysia (MSAM) here yesterday.

“If we keep on hunting (Sumatran Rhinos), there will be no more Sumatran Rhinos left in Sabah.”

Sime Darby, through its foundation, Yayasan Sime Darby (YSD), has committed RM11.4 million for Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) located at Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu from 2009 till 2015.

The project is a collaboration with Sabah Wildlife Department and Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) to conserve the critically endangered Sumatran Rhinos.

Masidi also urged corporations in Sabah to save endangered species as part of their corporate social responsibility (CSR) programme as done by Sime Darby.

“We can be rich, but the best inheritance to leave for our next generation is those who are endangered, so that the next generation can appreciate them,”he said.

The Sim Darby Rhino Walk attracted more than 6,000 participants from all walks of life.

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Wanted — rhinos for breeding in Sabah

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah wildlife officials are on the lookout for more rhinos to take part in an ongoing breeding programme of the highly endangered animals.

State Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said they were hoping to capture more of the elusive animals, particularly those that were capable of breeding.

Researchers have estimated that there are fewer than 30 rhinos in the wild in Sabah and most of them are within the Tabin wildlife sanctuary and Danum Valley conservation area in Sabah's east coast.

The breeding programme is being carried out at the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in Tabin where wildlife researchers are hoping to get a male named Tam to breed with two females named Puntung and Gelogob.

The sanctuary was given a boost recently when the Sime Darby Foundation provided an additional RM6.4mil grant for the various rhino conservation programmes there.

Since 2009, the foundation has provided RM5mil that went towards patrolling for poachers, maintenance of the paddock and facilities, rhino quarantine facilities and other operational costs.

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Rhino romance may be last hope

Puntung is a Sumatran rhino, one of roughly 200 left in the world.

Captured in a Borneo forest on Christmas Day, she is the latest addition to Malaysia's Borneo Rhino Sanctuary - and possibly one of the last hopes for a species on the brink of extinction.

Veterinarians want to introduce Puntung to Tam, a 20-year-old male Sumatran rhinoceros in the enclosure next door, in the hopes that they will breed - although this cannot take place for a number of months, until Puntung is deemed ready.

Estimated to be 10 to 12 years old, she was airlifted to the sanctuary after her capture and has since been adjusting to her new home, eating more than 60 kilograms of leaves each day.

"She doesn't look stressed, she's eating well . but the stress [of a new environment] is enough to offset her cycle, her normal cycle," said Zainal Zahari Zainuddin, a veterinarian with the Borneo Rhino Alliance.

Captive breeding is now regarded as the only way to boost the population of the two-horned Sumatran rhino, which at 500 to 600 kg and 1.3 metres tall is the world's smallest rhinoceros.

Deforestation and illegal hunting have decimated the population in the wild, and habitat fragmentation has cut the surviving animals off from potential mates. The animals are aging to the point where they are too old to breed.

But even the capture of Puntung, dubbed a "Christmas miracle" by scientists, does not mean success is assured.

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Rhino breeding facility urgently needed in Borneo

TABIN: There is now an urgent need to establish the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) breeding facility.

The facility, expected to cost around RM8 million is needed badly, and while the government has agreed to its establishment in 2008, it has not been built yet, Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) Executive Director Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne said this to reporters visiting the interim facility on Thursday.

“I hope the capture of Puntung would prompt the government of Malaysia with renewed interest because we are in need of this proper long term breeding facility,” said Payne.

Puntung is a young Sumatran rhino that was captured on December 18, 2011, within the reserve itself and was moved to the interim facility next to the sole male rhino in captive, Tam, on Dec 25, last year.

“A tentative estimate of her age is 10 to 12 years old. She is feeding well and putting on weight,” he said.

Payne added that the capture of Puntung haD raised their hopes for survival of the species.

“What I can say at this stage is that we have a potentially fertile male, Tam, and a potentially fertile female, Puntung. So we are now presented with a potential that wasn’t there before, several years ago. If nothing else, it gives us something like the confidence element, not only for BORA but also the government, and that is something worth pursuing,” said Payne.

Without the facilities established, mating for Puntung and the sole male captive rhino on site, Tam, would have to take place in a small paddock between the night stall and the forest paddock, which Payne described, as tiny and not ideal.

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Sime Darby key to setting up the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary

KOTA KINABALU: Yayasan Sime Darby has emerged a key player in assisting efforts to set up the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve over the last three years.

The foundation has contributed RM5mil towards the development of Borneo Rhino Sanctuary as well as provide additional funds for management of wildlife in Tabin Wildlife.

Sabah Wildlife Department director Dr Laurentius Ambu said that support by the private sector played an important role in the conservation of the Sumatran rhinos whose last known remaining populations were in the Danum Valley and Tabin Wildlife Reserve in the Lahad Datu district.

He said the Government had outlined several steps towards helping in the survival of the endangered Sumatran rhinoceros.

The first need is to prevent the poaching and illegal trapping of Sabah’s remaining wild rhinos.

The second need is to bring the few remaining rhinos which are not breeding to the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary, a managed fenced facility being developed at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

“The people who will be protecting, monitoring, rescuing and caring for rhinos need a comfortable place to stay as well,” he said in thanking Yayasan Sime Darby and other partners in helping provide basic facilities for the area.

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Restoration of degraded forest crucial for survival of orang-utans

The large scale restoration of degraded forest in Ulu Segama and Malua Forest Reserves are crucial for the long term survival of the orang-utans population in Sabah.

According to Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) Executive Director, Datuk Dr Junaidi Payne during the Malaysian Nature Society (MNS) 70th Anniversary International Conference on “Challenges and Solutions for a Tropical Biodiversity” held at a hotel near here recently that the two areas had the country’s largest orangutan population.

He added that the current government has made a strong commitment to keeping the area (about 240,000 hectares) under natural forest in order to conserve the orangutan population.

However, a future administration can just as easily alter that commitment and ‘cut off’ a big chunk of the forest for oil palm plantation expansion on the grounds that ‘there is no choice’ for the State economy or to sustain the local processing industry at Lahad Datu, he said.

“Investing in restoring the big areas of degraded forest here will help to ensure the commitment of the present government is sustained in the long term,” he said.

Dr Junaidi also commented that efforts by certain quarters to conduct public awareness and the building of rope bridges across rivers for orangutans to cross are equally important aids to helping save the species in the long-term.

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Female Sumatran Rhinoceros translocated to Tabin Wildlife Reserve

TABIN (Lahad Datu): The only female Sumatran Rhinoceros kept in captivity at the Lokawi Wildlife Park was safely translocated to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, near here yesterday.

Gelegub, the 28-year-old rhino, is now part of the Borneo Rhino Conservation Programme also known as the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary Programme in Tabin. The aim of the programme is to ward off the extinction of the species which now numbers at less than 50 in the wild.

The rhino underwent a 12-hour journey from the Lokawi Wildlife Park to the Tabin Wildlife Reserve, leaving the park at 6.30pm on Tuesday and arriving at about 6am yesterday. She was accompanied by a convoy headed by the Park’s Veterinarian, Dr Roza Sipangkui, staff of the Sabah Wildlife Department’s (SWD) Wildlife Rescue Unit and its veterinarians. They were also assisted by police.

Gelegub has been placed at the Lokawi Wildlife Park for the last three years prior to the move.

Sabah Wildlife Department Director, Dr Laurentius Ambu said that the decision to move Gelegub was made after consulting with rhino experts in the country as well as from abroad.

“The threat of extinction on the rhino is imminent, with less than 50 left in the wild presently and mainly in fragmented forest,” he said.

He said that SWD are working together with the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF), Liebniz Institute of Zoo and Wildlife Research and Liepzig Zoo with the effort to rescue the rhinos at these fragmented forest and bring them to the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) where they can meet and mate naturally.

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Help needed in saving Sabah's rhinos

KOTA KINABALU: Leaving Sabah’s remaining less than 50 Sumatran rhinos to fend for themselves in the wild appears to be no longer an option in ensuring the species’ survival.

State Wildlife Department director Laurentius Ambu said the establishment of forest corridors to connect Sabah’s remaining fragmented jungles thus allowing the movement of wildlife would no longer be of help to the rhinos.

“The rhinos now need a different concentrated effort that is being carried out in Tabin,” he said when launching a workshop on Species Action Plans for Sabah’s iconic wildlife - the orang utan, elephant and rhinos.

Laurentius was referring to efforts in protecting and encouraging the breeding of Sumatran rhinos at the 4,500ha Borneo Rhino Sanctuary (BRS) at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah’s east coast Lahad Datu district.

His remarks came a day after the department said it was planning to translocate a female rhino photographed by a camera trap two weeks ago to the BRS in Tabin in hopes that it would eventually mate with a male named Tam captured two years ago.

Meanwhile, Laurentius said the Species Action Plans were needed for immediate and practical conservation actions to ensure long-term survival of the species that were “continously diminishing” in numbers.

He said there was an estimated 40 Sumatran rhinos left in Sabah, another 2,000 Borneo pygmy elephants and 11,000 orang utan - a drop of about 50% over the past 50 years.

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Sabah wildlife officials to trap rhino for breeding

Malaysian wildlife officials on Wednesday said they plan to trap a rare female Borneo rhino caught on camera to mate with a lone male rescued two years ago.

"This particular female rhino is targeted for capture in order to provide a mate for our lone male rhino, Tam, who was captured in August 2008," Laurentius Ambu, Sabah Wildlife Director said in a statement.

Officials said captive breeding was the only way to prevent extinction of the wild rhino, under threat from poaching.

The wild female rhino was spotted by remotely-set camera traps in eastern Sabah a few weeks ago. It followed the release on April 21 of an image of a possibly pregnant female in a another part of the state.

"Sabah now represents the last hope of saving the species in Malaysia and in Borneo," John Payne, chief executive officer of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora).

Bora is assisting Sabah in the development of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve and providing security against poaching.

Sen Nathan, rhino conservation programme coordinator said poachers were the number one enemy of the rhinos.

"We have reached a stage now where even habitat loss is not so much the main reason for extinction, rather the ruthless hunting of the last few remaining individuals, to supply ridiculous markets for horns, bones and other body parts.

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