Sumatran Rhino Numbers Off 50% In 10 Yrs - "No Sign Of Stabilizing"

[hatrack]

JAKARTA, March 2 (Bernama) - The population of the Sumatran Rhinoceros dropped by around 50 percent over the last 10 years due poaching and deforestation which destroyed the animals habitat, ANTARA reported quoting a Forestry Ministry official.

The population of the Sumatran Rhinos in 1993 was around 215 to 319, while previously the number was estimated at between 420 and 875 Director of Biodiversity Conservation Affairs, Adi Sumianto said on Wednesday. "Sumatran Rhinos are to be found in four locations in Sumatra Islands national parks, and maybe in other areas also," Adi said.

The habitats of the Sumatran Rhino, the only two-horned rhino in the Asian region, were the Leuser, Kerinci Seblat, South Bukit Barisan and Way Kambas national parks. The endangered animal was now on the brink of extinction due to modern as well as traditional poaching activities, deforestation and the fragmentation of their habitats, he said.

EDIT

There is no indication that the situation is showing any signs of stabilizing.

EDIT

http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v3/news_lite.php?id=183376

[NNadir]

1. Very sad. Very sad.

[blindpig]

2. Goodbye.

Between the Chinese lust for rhino horn and our lust for cheap goods from China this species is toast. Only a California Condor type recovery plan might save them and that will be much more difficult due to the rhino's very slow reproduction rate. The very low numbers involved also makes low genetic diversity an issue though the condors and the Mauritius Kestrel seem to have beat that issue.