KOTA KINABALU, May 30 — It is now up to Indonesia to spearhead the next move to save Sumatran rhinos since all known populations of the critically endangered animal are on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo’s Kalimantan, Sabah-based Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) has said.

Its executive director John Payne said there are still too few fertile rhinos in any one place to sustain a viable breeding population, and with Malaysia left with just a single female, the onus was on Indonesia to decide the future of the species.

“Indonesia and the main institutions supporting Sumatran rhino conservation should be reconsidering what exactly is being done to boost the birth rate of the last remaining Sumatran rhinos before all the last rhinos die of old age or reproductive pathologies.

“The ball is in Indonesia’s court,” Payne told Malay Mail in an email interview.

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Bora has been in charge of capturing and caring for Sumatran rhinos in Sabah over the past decade.

Payne expressed regret that Sabah did not manage to work with Indonesia in the years leading to the deaths of two of its three captive rhinos, including Tam who died last Monday due to kidney failure.

He said he is unaware of Indonesia’s plans for propagation of the species

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“We know only what we read via internet on the National Geographic-led programme for Sumatran Rhino Rescue. To our knowledge, this programme has not sought advice from or collaboration with Malaysia or Sabah,” he said.

Payne said that the reason Sumatran rhinos went extinct in Malaysia but not in Indonesia was simple randomness, but their clock to save their species is also ticking.

“Sumatra and Kalimantan together have a land area three times bigger than Malaysia. It is just a matter of time before the species completely disappears from Indonesia,” he said.

“The answer is not primarily poaching and habitat loss. One thing that is very clear is that leaving Sumatran rhinos in the forest will not save the species. In every single forest set aside by governments decades ago for Sumatran rhinos, even with anti-poaching effort, it is just a matter of time before the last one dies, whether of poaching or old age or disease,” he said.

Payne said that Bora will continue conservation efforts for the species as long as they are options left, but will be selective in their advice.

“Firstly, we will be guided by the government of Sabah and Malaysia. Secondly, we will not be guided by international organisations or the relevant wildlife NGOs, because over the past few decades they have failed to identify what needs to be done and, accordingly, not given wise advice to the government of Indonesia.

“Thirdly, as far as we are concerned, as long as there are a few Sumatran rhinos left alive, and the political and logistical situation allows it, we will keep doing whatever is possible and necessary to prevent the genus extinction,” said Payne.

Why we must continue rhino conservation efforts

The Sabah government has reiterated its intention to start up collaborations with Indonesia, to use eggs from Sabah’s last female rhino — Iman — and fertilise them with an Indonesian male rhino’s sperm that could be carried by a surrogate female. Any calf born would be under co-ownership of the two governments.

Plans have been on the books for years; the last attempt came close in April last year but was called off at the last minute by Indonesia who claimed that the eggs were not viable.

Certain wildlife conservationists have said that Tam’s death, and the convoluted bilateral relationship spell the “end of the road” for rhino conservation, which has taken up a lot of funding, time and effort despite little to show.

They argue that funds spent on rhinos, which run into the millions per animal, could be better spent elsewhere on other endangered species in Sabah that have a better chance of survival and also deserve attention.

Payne chastised such thinking, saying that every new major success in science, technology and even politics came from persistence, and said time and cost, within reasonable limits, should not be the main criteria when it comes to conservation.

“Saving any endangered species requires as much effort as is necessary, for as long as necessary, by dedicated people over the entire species range, until numbers start going up significantly,” he said.

“It is a source of great disappointment to us in Bora that some of our colleagues in the same field keep on saying that success in application of advanced reproductive technology to Sumatran rhinos is many years off and ‘a long shot’.

“They seem not to realise the ridiculousness of what they say. Start now. Do it. Until it works,” he said.

Bora executive director John Payne said that it will continue conservation efforts for the species as long as they are options left, but will be selective in their advice. ― Picture by Julia Chan
Bora executive director John Payne said that it will continue conservation efforts for the species as long as they are options left, but will be selective in their advice. ― Picture by Julia Chan

He said that in the 30 years of rhino conservation, the cost of an estimated RM40 million is less than what has been spent on many other species combined, without success, and more funds were also required for those species.

“As the world’s most endangered land-dwelling mammal genus, that was once the Asian rhino, Sumatran rhino has to be seen in a global context and not just Sabah,” he said.

He estimated in vitro fertilisation attempts between Indonesia and Malaysia might cost in the region of RM100,000 per session, and it might take a few sessions before they see results.

“It is very likely that several or many attempts will have to be made, to get the exact conditions right in every way, from harvest, to transportation, to maturity of the eggs, to the fertilisation step, to care of the cell mass.

“But again, why wait and be pessimistic? Practise makes perfect. The first step is always the hardest, especially for older people. For the above reasons, we cannot guess the cost. This will be a process with learning. It will not be a one-off success or failure scenario,” he said.

Tam was taken care of properly, and continues to ‘live’

Payne said that one thing he wanted to make clear is that Tam, who lived more than 30 years, received top quality care ever since he came into captivity in year 2008.

“His death was natural and closely linked to his old age. More specifically, the immediate cause of death was hypovolemic shock as a result of massive bleeding within the abdomen.

“The bleeding in turn was a result of kidney failure, which had many negative implications on the body,” he said, In humans, it is known as end-stage renal disease, requiring dialysis, but the end result is death.

Since Tam’s death, several things will be done with his carcass. The post-mortem examination, or autopsy, itself was very detailed and involved a lot of surgery.

“Parts of several organs were taken for on-the-spot and laboratory examination and for cell culture. The skin has been removed and will be treated and displayed in an appropriate place chosen by the government.

“The bones are also removed and treated so that the full skeleton will be available long term. The other remains are buried locally within Tabin Wildlife Reserve,” Payne said.

A key point to note is that Tam and three other Sumatran rhinos’ genomes were kept alive in active cell culture for future use. Tam’s sperm in his testes were removed very soon after death and are preserved in liquid nitrogen.

“Due to his old age and poor health, the quantity and quality are poor, but adequate to try in vitro fertilisation. Tissue samples were taken from several organs and sent to International Islamic University Malaysia in Kuantan, which currently has the most advanced facilities and expertise in Malaysia for animal cell cultures.

“So, in a purely cell biological sense, Tam still lives,” he said.

Payne said that it is best not to dwell on Tam’s death and the tragedy that is the seeming loss of his species.

“Two decades from now, however, his death will be a small part of a big story. The big story will be either the final extinction or the early stage of an exciting revival of the species,” he added.