KOTA KINABALU: Sabah lost one of its natural treasures when Gelugob, one of only 10 Sumatran rhinoceroses in captivity worldwide, died at the Lok Kawi Wildlife Park on Saturday due to old age.
The female rhino, estimated to be about 37 years old, had been in captivity since 1994, the Sabah Wildlife Department said in a statement.
According to park veterinarian Dr Rosa Sipangkui, Gelugob "appeared to be moving slower and was not eating as well as she used to."
"Since these symptoms are quite normal in aging animals, it was noted and her condition was monitored. In early January, her condition worsened; she refused to drink and ate very little.
"Despite the best efforts of our veterinary team, her condition continued to deteriorate and on the evening of Jan 11, she laid down and died shortly after."
There are probably fewer than 150 Sumatran rhinos left in the wilds of Sumatra and Borneo today.
The department's assistant director, Dr Sen Nathan, said the lifespan of a Sumatran rhino was unknown.
The last Sumatran rhino to die in captivity was a 33-year-old male at the Cincinnati Zoo in the United States.
"We rescued Gelugob from Bulud Napa, Kinabatangan in 1994. Gelugob was immediately included in our Sumatran rhino programme, that was then located in Sepilok, near Sandakan.
"For the next 19 years, local and foreign experts from around the world tried to breed and study her reproductive behaviour extensively, up to 2011, when she was found to be unable to produce eggs, even with hormone treatments, due to her old age."
Gelugob was transferred to Lok Kawi on March 24 last year from the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.
"Though the death of Gelugob is a great loss, this only furthers our determination to do whatever we can to save this species from extinction. Sabah now seems to be the only state in Malaysia that has wild rhinos.
"Rhino numbers are too low and the wild rhinos too dispersed. If we do not intervene and rescue all of them and consolidate them into a managed breeding programme, propagation of new generations of rhinos will be impossible," said department director Datuk Dr Laurentius Ambu.
He said that if conservation and breeding efforts were not carried out, all the remaining rhinos would meet the same fate as Gelugob -- growing old and dying without producing any more young rhinos, leading to their disappearance from Sabah.
Gelugob in her paddock at Lok Kawi Wildlife Park. One of the only 10 Sumatran rhinoceroses in captivity worldwide, it has been in captivity since 1994 and was estimated to be 37 years old. Bernama pic
source : nst.com.my
date : January 14th, 2014
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