Indonesia has signaled it could finally send a sample of Sumatran rhino semen to a breeding program in Malaysia amid growing urgency to maintain the species alive.
Conservationists in Sabah, Malaysian Borneo, where only two Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus Sumatran) remain, have been in search of a frozen semen sample taken from a rhinoceros as a part of Indonesia’s captive breeding program in Sumatra since 2015 to start a man-made insemination trial – but to no avail because the Indonesian government repeatedly ignored his request.
But now a senior official says semen stored on the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) may very well be shipped to Malaysia later this yr.
“We have discussed all aspects of the proposal and sent our analysis to the Commission [environment] minister,” Wiratno, head of environmental protection on the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, told reporters in Jakarta last week.
“This might be a precious lesson for each countries because we’re also coping with rhinos which might be losing their habitats,” he added.
If approved, the plan would mix semen from Andalas, a rhino bred in captivity at SRS, with viable eggs from Iman, the last remaining female Sumatran rhino in Malaysia, to provide an embryo that might then be implanted into one among the ladies back on the Indonesian sanctuary .
It can be best to fertilize in Malaysia because frozen sperm travels higher than eggs. Malaysia agreed to let Indonesia keep any resulting offspring.
If all goes to plan, this system will increase the species’ genetic diversity, on condition that Iman comes from a population in Borneo that has been separated from the population of Sumatra for 1000’s of years.
John Payne, head of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), which is deeply involved within the plan on the Malaysian side, welcomed Wiratno’s announcement.
“I cannot speak on behalf of the Malaysian government, but I am sure this is the news we have all been waiting for,” he said. “It is encouraging that the Director-General of Conservation has expressed his commitment to review the necessary procedures to expedite approval for the release of frozen Sumatran rhino semen into Malaysia.”
He said 2018 was a landmark yr for Indonesia and Malaysia’s joint efforts to guard the species, which began in 1985.
“We have to realize that speed is everything,” Payne said. “Regardless of whether Indonesia decides to cooperate with Malaysia or not, this species is very close to extinction. The need to immediately increase the birth rate of Sumatran rhinos far outweighs the need to prevent their deaths.”
There is an increasingly urgent need to accentuate the captive breeding program for critically endangered species necessitated by death last June Puntung, the one female Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia on the time; and in December o serious deterioration of Iman’s health. Iman has since created slow recoveryand Payne and his team hope that she’s going to have the option to provide fertile eggs again for fertilization attempts.
Experts consider that there aren’t any greater than 100 Sumatran rhinos and perhaps even 30, are left within the wild, scattered in tiny populations in Sumatra, Borneo and maybe peninsular Malaysia. With such a small population, the danger of genetic defects being transferred through captive breeding is high, making cooperation between Indonesia and Malaysia all of the more essential.
There is also diplomatic advantages for the 2 governments, which have often clashed over issues equivalent to cultural appropriation and territorial claims.
“Relations between the two countries will also improve because wildlife issues transcend national borders and it is an important global need based on science,” Wiratno said.
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This article was published on Mongabay.com with the title “Indonesia suggests rhino sperm transfer to Malaysia could finally occur this yr” on January 24, 2018, written by Basten Gokon
