Sumatran Rhino Rescued from Pit Trap in East Kalimantan
14 December 2018 11:53 WIB
TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - Officers at East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conversation Agency (BKSDA) successfully rescued a female Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) from a pit trap on Sunday, November 25. The trap is in West Kutai District, East Kalimantan near Tunuq River.
“At 9 a.m local times, all rescuers depart to the pit location, and within 24 hours, the rhino is moved to boma or transport crate,” said East Kalimantan BKSDA head Sunandar in a written statement in Jakarta, Thursday, November 29.
Read: 5 International Organizations Unite to Save Sumatran Rhinos
Sunandar said the rhino –which was later named Pahu– was relocated on Tuesday, November 27 to Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) in Protected Forest Kelian Lestari. “Based on the examination, the rhino’s health condition is stable and good.”
Sumatran rhino is a critically endangered species according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN). Based on Population and Habitat Viability Analysis (PHVA) data in 2016, its population was estimated to lower than 100 species in nature. Other than in Sumatra, the threatened animal was found in a very limited number in Kalimantan.
Meanwhile, Director General of Natural Resource and Ecosystem Conversation (KSDAE) of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Wiratno, said translocation was one of the significant preliminary measures to preserve Sumatran rhino. He underlined that the Indonesian government is fully committed to undertake efforts of semi-natural breeding as well as preserve natural habitat for the rhino.
ANTARA