Otto, E., 1903. Pflanzer- und Jaegerleben auf Sumatra. Berlin, Wilhelm Suesserott, pp. 1-185
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| Location: |
Asia - South East Asia - Indonesia - Sumatra |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Records |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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From 1-3 March of the following year [?], during a holiday, Assan said that he had seen a large swamp in which daily rhinos were wallowing, also there were some large trees with Bua-Kayu fruit, which the rhinos like to eat. After crossing some hills, we came near the Lepan River, the right bank of which often overflows and the land is turned into a big swamp, the Paya Atjeh. Tracks of rhinos were seen going in all directions through the swamp. Only one small stream allowed us to enter the swamp, although we often sank up to the knees in the mud. After some two hours Assan saw signs of a rhinoceros taking a mudbath. I tried to see the animal and at last I saw, at a distance of some 60 paces, a rhinoceros which walked very slowly away from us. I fired at the animal, and for a while we couldn't see anything from the smoke of the gun. There was no attack from the animal, and then we walked cautiously towards the animal. However, we saw nothing but the tracks leading further into the swamp. After a while, we tried to follow the sick animal, but the going as very hard and we had to give up, otherwise we would have been caught by the night. A few days later Assan brought me the skull of a rhinoceros, without the horns, which the people living near the Lepan River had found dead.
In July of the same year, another hunt with a friend from Hanover. Here I found tracks not of a wild pig, but a rhinoceros. Ten more steps brought me to a hill and there stood, about 20 steps away, the rhinoceros showing me his behind. There was no time to loose, as the animal turned his head and looked at me. I aimed at the eye and fired. The animal fell where it stood, a second bullet was not necessary as this one had entered the head behind the ear and as i found later, completely shattered the back part of the skull. The animal could not have been very old, as the front horn was 11 cm, the second 5 cm.
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Pflanzer- und Jaegerleben auf Sumatra
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