| THE POLITICS OF EXTINCTION | |
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A Future Without Forests? - Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is probably the most endangered of all rhinoceros species.36 As a result of poaching for the lucrative trade in rhino horn, numbers have declined by 50% over the past decade.37 Fewer than 400 Sumatran rhino survive in very small and highly fragmented populations in South-East Asia with Indonesia and Malaysia being the only significant range states. In the last few decades, the species has disappeared from national parks in Borneo and there may no longer be any surviving populations in Kalimantan.38 They are now extinct in Kutai National Park which was created to protect the species.39 Experts estimated that the total population in Sumatra stands at between 185 and 250 animals.40 Their typical habitats are the tropical rainforest and montane moss forest which are being lost across their range. Anti-poaching efforts appear to have largely halted the hunting of these animals. However, poaching to supply the demand for rhino horn used in traditional medicine has undoubtedly had a devastating effect.41 |
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