Abstract booklet - gtö – Society for Tropical Ecology

118 PARALLEL SESSION HALL H IV | TROPICAL VERTEBRATESPARALLEL SESSION HALL H IV | TROPICAL VERTEBRATES119Session: Tropical vertebratesWednesday, 23 February, 16:00, Hall H IVspecies, including the Sabah rhino.The Leibniz Institute for Zoo and Wildlife Research (IZW) and the Zoo Leipzigsupport the local government and NGOs with its proven scientific and captivebreeding expertise ensuring the preservation of the Sabah rhino.THE SABAH RHINO PROJECTPetra Kretzschmar 11IZW Berlin, Berlin, DE, kretzschmar@izw-berlin.deWEDNESDAY 16:00 Hall H IVThe Sabah rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissonii) is a subspecies of theSumatra rhino. It once occurred all over Borneo but habitat destructionand poaching led to a drastic reduction of the population within the last 15years. Currently less than 50 individuals of the subspecies still exist. Thesefew individuals occur in the northern tip of Borneo, in the East Malaysianstate Sabah. Sabah is characterised by a high diversity in flora and fauna. Itsrainforests are among the oldest rainforest of the world. But the majority ofthe forest areas in Sabah, especially the lowland forests, have been selectivelylogged in the past. The increasing demand for palm oil on the internationalmarket, has led to a high pressure on the remaining forest areas. Forest areaswith a very low protection status, such as secondary forest, are therefore at ahigh risk to be converted into agricultural land. These areas are however veryimportant for the animals such as the rhino and the elephant. They are bufferzones between agricultural land and primary forest and they are corridors forlarge animals connecting the fragmented landscapes. The remaining Sabahrhinos are isolated from each other in small pockets of rainforest surrounded byplantations; here they are facing a high risk of inbreeding. Therefore breedingmanagement of this highly endangered species becomes essential.In July 2007 the government of Sabah together with local and internationalNon Governmental Organisations (NGO) decided to start a rescue and breedingproject for isolated individuals. In the past, the captive breeding of the specieshas not been a story of success. Basic information from free ranging animalswas lacking due to its elusive character, its rarity and the inhospitable natureof its habitat.This resulted in management problems as its basic requirements in terms offood, health and breeding were unknown. In recent years more data has beencollected and captive breeding methods have fast developed. Non-invasivehormone analysis, ultrasound techniques and assisted reproductive techniqueshave been successfully applied for the reproductive assessment in a number ofWEDNESDAY 16:00 Hall H IVgtöSociety for Tropical Ecology | Gesellschaft für Tropenökologie e.V. Status and future of tropical biodiversity | Frankfurt, 21 - 24 February 2011gtö