Adapted from “Catastrophe at Sungai Dusun” as appeared on
www.rhinos-irf.org, by Dr. Tom Foose.

Conservation organizations prefer to announce successes and achievements. At other times, there are needs for notification of crises that require action and support. But sometimes, there are also significant setbacks to report.

From April through November of 2003, and particularly the last two weeks of that period, a major catastrophe occurred at the Sumatran Rhino Conservation Center at Sungai Dusun in Peninsular Malaysia.
In April, an adult female rhino “Rima” died, most likely from tetanus. This loss was most unfortunate because Rima was a known breeder. She had been captured pregnant in the mid 1980s but most of her pregnancy occurred while she was in captivity. She died the day after what was most likely a successful breeding.

But the worst was yet to occur. From October 28 to November 16, five other animals died: the sole male Ara (who appeared to be reproductively healthy) and four females Minah (who was the youngest and had recently resumed normal reproductive cycles), Panjang, Seputih, and Mas Merah. Thus the largest population of Sumatran rhinos in captivity had been annihilated.

The cause of this tragedy is not yet verified but is probably either a very virulent and infectious disease or an environmental toxin. Sungai Dusun has maintained healthy Sumatran rhinos for over 15 years without any similar incidents. Moreover, these deaths decimated the population despite the heroic efforts of the Center’s Curator and Veterinarian Dr. Mohd Aidi, assisted by a team of veterinarians led by Dr. Vellayan from the National Zoo in Malaysia. Also consulting long distance were Dr. Robin Radcliffe of Fossil Rim Wildlife Center and Dr. Terri Roth from the Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden. Providing overall coordination of these efforts has been Mohd Khan, Chair of the IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group and of the Malaysian Rhino Foundation.

Despite these setbacks, many of the Sumatran rhino conservationists believe we must persevere to develop a viable program of captive propagation as a supplement and back-up to the primary program of protecting the species in the wild against ever increasing odds. Hence, the program at the Cincinnati Zoo and at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park will continue. For now, the conservation program for Sumatran rhino in Peninsular Malaysia (where perhaps 75 rhino survive in the wild) will concentrate on supporting Rhino Protection Units (RPUs), the teams that patrol the forests to deter poaching and protect wild rhinos.

The Cincinnati Zoo & Botanical Garden is proud to partner with the International Rhino Foundation and it's mission to support and operate rhino conservation and research programs both in nature and in captivity, with particular emphasis on intensive management and protection.