Overview
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The Sumatran Rhinoceros once inhabited a continuous range as far north as Burma, eastern India and Bangladesh. Unconfirmed reports also placed the Sumatran Rhino in Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam. All known living animals occur in Peninsular Malaysia, the island of Sumatra and Sabah, Borneo. Some conservationists hope that Sumatran Rhinos may still survive in Burma, though it is considered unlikely. Political turmoil in Burma has prevented any assessment or study of possible survivors.[1] The last reports of stray animals from Indian limits were in 1990s.[2] Only six areas are known to contain communities of more than a handful of Sumatran Rhinoceros: Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, and Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra; Taman Negara National Park in Peninsular Malaysia; and the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.[3][4]
Mainland Asia
editLocalities in Mainland Asia included the Tamanthi Wildlife Reserve in Burma where rhinos were reported in the mid-1990s[5]. Across the border from Tamanthi, in eastern India, are the provinces of Nagaland and Manipur where rhinos were reported in the mid-1990s[6]. To the south of Tamanthi are several localities in Bangladesh include the Chittagong Hill Tracts which is the type locality for D. s. lasiotis. One individual was shot here in 1967Cite error: The <ref> tag has too many names (see the help page)..
Localities in the Tenasserim Range include records from the north of Tenasserim proper, where there were numerous reports in 1962[7], to Kota Tinggi in the south where a rhino was captured in 1994[8]. Details of reports from the Tenasserim Range are listed below.
Sumatra
editPopulations in Sumatra remain in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, Gunung Leuser National Park, Kerinci Seblat National Park, and Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra.
Borneo
editA population is believed to survive in the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah, Malaysia on the island of Borneo.
References
edit- ^ Foose, Thomas J. and van Strien, Nico (1997). Asian Rhinos – Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. ISBN 2-8317-0336-0.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ Choudhury, A.U. (1997). The status of the Sumatran rhinoceros in north-eastern India. Oryx, 31(2):151-152.
- ^ Dinerstein, Eric (2003). The Return of the Unicorns; The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros. New York: Columbia University Press. ISBN 0-231-08450-1.
- ^ Dean, Cathy (2005). "Habitat loss". In Fulconis, R. (ed.). Save the rhinos: EAZA Rhino Campaign 2005/6. London: European Association of Zoos and Aquaria. pp. 96–98.
{{cite book}}: Unknown parameter|coauthors=ignored (|author=suggested) (help) - ^ Rabinowitz, A., G.B. Schaller and U Uga (1995). A survey to assess the status of Sumatran rhinoceros and other large mammal species in Tamanthi Wildlife Sanctuary, Myanmar. Oryx, 29(2): 123–128.
- ^ Anwaruddin Choudhury (1997). The status of the Sumatran rhinoceros in north-eastern India. Oryx, 31(2): 151–152.
- ^ McNeely, J.A. and Cronin, E.W. 1972. Rhinos in Thailand. Oryx 11(6)
- ^ Zainal Zahari, Z. (1995) Review of Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) population in Peninsular Malaysia. Journal of Wildlife and Parks, 14, 1–15.