SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

| Conservation of Sumatran Rhinoceros in Sabah |

The Sumatran (or two-horned Asian) rhinoceros which is found in Sabah is the smallest of the five living species of rhino, weighing up to about 750 kg.The Sumatran rhino is characterised by the presence of two horns on the snout and two deep folds encircling the body between the legs. It is about 110 - 150 cm high at the shoulder and its body length is between 250 - 280 cm. The skin is dark and covered with short stiff hair.

This rhinoceros lives solitarily in dense rain forests and it is rather unusual to find a pair in the wild except during courtship and mating. Sumatran rhinoceros are browsers and feed on leaves and stems of a great number of shrubs and trees. Occasionally, fallen fruit are taken. It feeds mainly very early in the morning and night fall. It is a shy animal and rarely seen, even in areas of its habitat. The Sumatran rhino takes regular mudbaths, often in special wallows that are shaped by frequent use. This is the way the animal cool their massive body and avoid irritating insect bites. It is estimated that there are only about 150 - 300 rhinos left in the whole world.

As it is believed that almost every part of a rhino is valued in the traditional systems of medicine of South-East Asia, the Sabah Wildlife Department has to be constantly on the alert against hunters and those who deal in rhino products. In Sabah, the latest estimate of rhino population is a minimum of 80 - 100 individuals only. This is because hunting for its hom and loss of habitat are the two main threat to Sabah's rhino population.

Although a lot of people believed in the great aspects of medicinal value of the rhino, recent research have revealed that the rhino horn is only equivalent to that of our nails and therefore was no medicinal value.

Source : Wildlife of Sabah In Danger, Sepilok Orang Utan Rehabilitation Centre, Sabah Wildlife Department, 1993.