There is still a chance to save the Sumatran rhino (commentary)
Captive breeding has been a key strategy to save species on the brink of extinction, but it is frequently not applied until wild populations have dwindled to a very small…
Sumatran Rhino News
Signoff on rhino sperm transfer between Indonesia, Malaysia expected mid-May: Official
Hoping that sperm from one of Indonesia's rhinos can be used to fertilize Malaysia's last remaining female rhino, conservationists have been awaiting permission for the transfer for years.
Save the Sumatran rhino ‘because we can’ (commentary)
Senior correspondent Jeremy Hance argues in an opinion piece for the Sydney Morning Herald that we should save the Sumatran rhino, the world's oldest, smallest, and cutest rhino from extinction…
Indonesia hints rhino sperm transfer to Malaysia may finally happen this year
JAKARTA — Indonesia has signaled it may finally send a sample of Sumatran rhino semen to a breeding program in Malaysia, amid a growing urgency to keep the species alive.…
Indonesian ex-soldier among three jailed for illegal trade in Sumatran rhino, tiger parts
MEDAN, Indonesia — A court in Indonesia has sentenced three men, including a former soldier, to two years in jail for illegally trading in body parts from a critically endangered…
Glimmer of hope as Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino shows signs of recovery
JAKARTA — Malaysia’s last remaining female Sumatran rhino appears to have overcome the worst of a serious health condition, less than two weeks after it was announced that her condition…
Malaysia’s last female Sumatran rhino falls ill
Iman, the last female Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in the Malaysian state of Sabah, has fallen seriously ill over the past few days due to bleeding in her uterus, authorities…
DNA analysis shows Sumatran rhinos peaked during last Ice Age, never recovered
The critically endangered Sumatran rhino has been on an arc toward extinction for nearly 12,000 years now, according to a new study based on genome sequencing that also found the…
Petition for Indonesian government to save Sumatran rhino garners global support
Over 100,000 people have signed an online petition calling for the Indonesian government to do more to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction. “It is imperative [that] the Indonesian government…
The fate of the Sumatran rhino is in the Indonesian government’s hands
A fragile consensus to capture more rhinos has finally been reached, but one major roadblock remains: Indonesian officials.
Is anyone going to save the Sumatran rhino?
Time is running out for this Critically Endangered species. So why aren’t we doing more?
Where, oh where, are the rhinos of Bukit Barisan Selatan?
Are the park's Sumatran rhinos getting better at hiding from humans, or have they simply disappeared?
Worst-case scenario: There could be only 30 wild Sumatran rhinos left
Nobody knows exactly how many Sumatran rhinos survive in the wild. But the numbers aren't looking good.
A rhino called hope
Born in the United States, Sumatran rhino Harapan is settling into his new home at Indonesia's Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary.
Rhino horn confiscated, three alleged traffickers arrested in Sumatra
Environmental law enforcement authorities in Indonesia's Sumatra Island arrested three people on Aug. 13 in connection with the attempted sale of a rhino horn. A man identified by authorities as…
Road projects threaten Sumatra’s last great rainforests
One of the last and largest remnants of tropical rainforest in Asia is under threat from multiple road development plans. This forest complex, a UNESCO World Heritage Site known as…
Sumatran rhino horn, pangolin parts seized in Aceh wildlife trafficking bust
ACEH, Indonesia — Police in western Indonesia are investigating an alleged wildlife trafficking network after a recent raid confiscated the hacked horn of a Critically Endangered Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)…
Working with communities to fight fires in Way Kambas National Park
Conservationists in Indonesia's Sumatra Island are working with local residents to combat forest fires, aiming to transform communities near Way Kambas National Park into forest protectors, rather than threats to…
One of Malaysia’s last rhinos euthanized to ‘end her suffering’
Sumatran Rhino Puntung was euthanized early Sunday morning after being diagnosed last month with terminal squamous cell cancer. "Today is one of the saddest days we've ever faced," the Borneo…
Rhino poachers in Borneo: Q&A with a conservationist who lived with them
Details of this interview are contested. The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is extinct in the wild in Malaysia. But a recently published study sheds some light on what motivated poachers…
Rare Malaysian rhino still sick, but showing signs of improvement
"After a week of grave concern, we have some positive news," the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA) announced today. "Puntung looks like she's getting better." Female Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) Puntung,…
One of the last three rhinos in Malaysia is critically ill
UPDATE: Rare Malaysian rhino still sick, but showing signs of improvement Puntung, one of the last three Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) known to survive in Malaysia, is critically ill with…
Saving the Sumatran rhino requires changing the status quo
The story of a species with one of earth’s oldest mammal lineages, the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), is an illuminating chapter in the tale of what scientists are now calling…
Reports that wild Sumatran rhinos may survive in Malaysia prompt hope, skepticism
In 2015, Malaysian officials publicly confirmed there were no wild rhinos left in Malaysia. It was grim news for the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), whose surviving population is now believed…
Cash-strapped rhino groups turn to crowdfunding, with little success
There’s probably only one thing left that can save the Bornean rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni): cutting-edge, high cost in vitro fertilization (IVF) technology. This subspecies of the Critically Endangered Sumatran…
From Ohio to Indonesia: captive-bred Sumatran rhinos may be the species’ only hope for a future
This is the second article in two-part series about a captive breeding program attempting to rescue the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) from the brink of extinction. Read Part One here.…
From Indonesia to Ohio: the struggle to breed Sumatran rhinos in captivity
This is Part One of a two-part series about attempts to rescue Sumatran rhinos from the brink of extinction by breeding the critically endangered species in captivity. Read Part Two…
Efforts to conserve Asia’s rhinos meet successes, setbacks
When people think about rhinos, they likely think of Africa, where black and white rhinoceroses roam the grasslands and savannas. However, Asia is also home to three distinct species of…
It’s a girl: rare rhino gives birth to second calf in Sumatra
The fate of an imperiled species shined a little brighter on Thursday, when Ratu the Sumatran rhinoceros gave birth to her second calf at a captive breeding center in Indonesia. The…
Do we really want to save the Sumatran rhinoceros? (commentary)
At present rates of destruction, in about 25 years there will be no rainforests outside protected areas in Malaysia, already void of Sumatran rhinoceroses, nor in Indonesia. Many fewer than…
15 Bornean rhinos discovered in Kalimantan?
Indonesia’s environment and forestry ministry will convert a former gold mining site into a sanctuary for the Sumatran rhinoceros in East Kalimantan province, after conservationists identified 15 of the critically…
Cincinnati-born Harapan the rhino adjusting well to life in Sumatra
arapan the rhino is among the last of his kind. His name – it means “hope” in Indonesian – is fitting: scientists are counting on the newly mature Sumatran rhinoceros…
Special series
Forest Trackers
- Narco airstrips beset Indigenous communities in Peruvian Amazon
- 15 illegal narco-trafficking airstrips found near Peru Indigenous communities
- Satellite data show bursts of deforestation continue in Indonesian national park
- Fires rip through Indigenous territories in Brazilian Amazon
Oceans
- Scientists, Māori experts uncover new insights into rare spade-toothed whale
- Coral reefs could survive climate change, but in altered state, study says
- Conservationists see progress for swordfish, problems for sharks at Atlantic fisheries summit
- As tidal power rides a wave of clean energy optimism, pitfalls persist
Amazon Conservation
- ‘World’s largest’ carbon credit deal in the Amazon faces bumpy road ahead
- New conservation model calls for protecting Amazon for its archaeological riches
- Brazil dredges Amazon rivers to ease drought isolation, raising environmental concerns
- ‘We need white men on our side to save the Amazon from destruction,’ 92-year-old Indigenous Chief Raoni says
Land rights and extractives
- Should mining companies consider no-go zones where isolated Indigenous peoples live? (Commentary)
- Brazil sets a date to remove illegal miners from Munduruku land, more details await
- Peruvian logger loses FSC label after latest clash with isolated Mashco Piro
- A national park and its rangers in Bolivia endure persisting road construction, illegal mining
Endangered Environmentalists
- Environmental journalist in Cambodia shot and killed by suspected logger
- Vietnam sentences yet another energy expert over renewables research
- Mother Nature Cambodia activists sentenced to prison — again
- Mongabay video screening at Chile’s Supreme Court expected to help landmark verdict in Brazil
Indonesia's Forest Guardians
- On a Borneo mountainside, Indigenous Dayak women hold fire and defend forest
- Fenced in by Sulawesi national park, Indigenous women make forestry breakout
- In Borneo, the ‘Power of Mama’ fight Indonesia’s wildfires with all-woman crew
- Pioneer agroforester Ermi, 73, rolls back the years in Indonesia’s Gorontalo
Conservation Effectiveness
- How effective is the EU’s marquee policy to reduce the illegal timber trade?
- How sharing and learning from failures can transform conservation (commentary)
- Is planting trees as good for the Earth as everyone says?
- Failure in conservation projects: Everyone experiences it, few record it
Southeast Asian infrastructure
- An ‘ocean grab’ for a property megaproject leaves Jakarta fishers grounded
- Study: Indonesia’s new capital city threatens stable proboscis monkey population
- Indonesia’s new capital ‘won’t sacrifice the environment’: Q&A with Nusantara’s Myrna Asnawati Safitri
- Small farmers in limbo as Cambodia wavers on Tonle Sap conservation rules
