Signoff on rhino sperm transfer between Indonesia, Malaysia expected mid-May: Official

JAKARTA — Indonesia has taken the first concrete step to advancing a long-anticipated cross-border program that will attempt to fertilize the last female Sumatran rhino in Malaysia with sperm from a proven breeder living at a facility in Indonesia. The Indonesian government on April 12 sent a memorandum of understanding to its Malaysian counterpart regarding the transfer of genetic material, a senior official confirmed to Mongabay on April 26. “We’re expecting the Malaysian government to sign off on the MoU sometime mid-May,” Herry Subagiadi, the secretary to the conservation director at the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said on the sidelines of a media briefing in Jakarta. The news comes amid increasing concern about the health of Malaysia’s rhinos, and the prospects of the critically endangered species, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, as a whole. Iman wallowing in the mud. Image courtesy of John Payne/Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA). “It’s great to hear that an MoU on collaboration between Indonesia and Malaysia on Sumatran rhino might be signed in May,” John Payne, director of the Borneo Rhino Alliance (BORA), told Mongabay by text message. He noted that the core bilateral discussions regarding the MoU took place in October 2017. At the time, he said, Malaysia proposed a draft and expected feedback from Indonesia in November 2017. “We are at collapsing burning platform stage now for Sumatran rhino,” Payne said. “Decisive action to make baby Sumatran rhinos at all costs is essential. There can be no more delays, egos, jealousy or barriers.” Following the June…

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