Ansell, W.F.H., 1947. A note on the position of rhinoceros in Burma. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society 47 (2): 249-276, pl. 1, map 1
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| Location: |
Asia - South East Asia - Myanmar (Burma) |
| Subject: |
Distribution - Reasons for decline |
| Species: |
Sumatran Rhino |
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Aphrodisiac. A widespread belief throughout the East in the aphrodisiac properties of rhinoceros horn, especially among the Chinese has been the primary cause of the great dimunition in numbers of all the species in Asia, and the rarity of rhinoceros makes the horn all the more valuable. It is said that in the old days caravans used to come from China, right across Tibet to India in search of the horn.
Firearms
It was, of course, the advent of the firearm which produced this alarming decrease in numbers, as before the days of guns and rifles the rhinoceros had apparently weathered the storm of centuries of pursuit reasonably well. Relying on putfalls and other primitive means, the securing of a rhinoceros, even when plentiful, would doubtless be a feat requiring unlimited patience and skill, and some courage, for the rhinoceros of all species are well known as no mean adversaries when aroused.
Encroachment
[Burma] Though encroachment of cultivation in some of the lower lying haunts of Rhinoceros sondaicus would probably tend to localize the species to some extent.
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A note on the position of rhinoceros in Burma
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