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| Location: |
Asia - South East Asia - Malaysia - Sarawak |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Records |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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Now it cannot be denied that the rhino was once numerous in the Ulu Rejang, Ulu Baram and Ulu Trusan; without going into statistics each river even ten years ago was good for them from ten to twenty pairs of horns annually.
There are almost none now, and in fact, after a prolonged visit to the Ulu Trusan into a once populous rhino country, I saw only once a trace made about three years ago and nothing else under five years ago; the locality is remote and high up, but everyone of the many old 'wallows' passed had the remains of a Dayak hut within a few hundred yards, and even up on the highest peaks the wandering hunters had left their traces. A once populous rhino district has been wiped out by the Dayaks and one can only feel that it is agood thing that no rhinos have strayed in during the last five years and attempted to repopulate the district as they would have assuredly gone too. Into the ethics of rhino hunting I do not intend to go; the Punan was an uncontrollable curse until he had finished all the rhinos; the Kayans and Kenyahs were, as usual, reasonable, shared their beasts out among themselves, and made them last, until they finally took up a little over-the-garden-wall poaching. To the local inhabitants one does not begridge a rhino or two, since it is all in the district, but these wandering bands of professional Dayak hunters have been the worst menace; they are really persistent and stay on the beast's tracks from fifteen to twenty days until they catch it up. There are now no more such bands because there are now no rhinos and it is a fair criticism to say that the indiginous Sarawak stock of rhino is exterminated save for a few individuals on Mulu, Murud, Laiun and Tibang mountains; the odd ones who turn up in the baram and Trusan now and then being no more than strays from over the border.
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Rum and rhinos
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