 Reference Base  A survey to assess the status of the Sumatran rhinoceros ... |
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| Location: |
Asia - South East Asia - Malaysia - Sabah |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Records |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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Census 1995. In September 1992, Rabinowitz organized a rhino survey at the request of the Sabah Foundation and the Sabah Wildlife Department to assess rhino abundance and to standardize a methodology for future rhino surveys and monitoring in the area. Two small groups of rhinos, each consisting of two to three individuals, were found through intense surveying of areas totalling 80 km?. Assuming that other rhinos might be similarly distributed, an estimate of 13-23 rhinos was made for the 1000 km? Greater Danum Valley Conservation Area. While this estimate was more than twice that speculated by the Asian Rhino Action Plan, this survey put to rest the assumption that much of the area was undisturbed and protected by virtue of its ruggedness and isolation.
Only two out of seven teams found recent evidence of rhino presence. Five teams encountered only old rhino sign, along with old hunting camps. This included an area where rhinos had been studied in 1986, but were now no longer present. Of the two teams that discovered fresh rhino sign, one was located adjacent to the field station and tourist accommodation. The second team, which was dropped by helicopter into the most remote section of the study area, encountered an ongoing rhino-poaching expedition. The hunters fled along a well-used trail peppered with old campsites, indicating a history of poaching in the area.
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