The five-year rhino conservation project, launched last week, will be known as "Rhino Rescue."
A team, set up with help from local wildlife authorities, will conduct daily patrols to record rhino footprints, which will then be identified using special software, Alfred said.
Remote sensing devices and satellite images will also be used to detect encroachment or illegal logging in the dense jungles, he said.
The team is based in the Belum forest in northern Perak state and around the Kinabatangan area in Sabah on eastern Borneo to deter would-be poachers. The data compiled will be used to draft recommendations to be included in government forest management plans, he said.
WWF estimates that the number of Sumatran rhinos, considered endangered animals, has declined by half due to poaching over the last 10 years.
It is believed that fewer than 300 Sumatran rhinos exist in the world, with the last significant groups in Malaysia and Indonesia.
Name: Sumatran Rhinoceros (
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)
Primary Classification: Rhinocerotidae (Rhinoceroses)
Location: Mainly Sumatra and Borneo
Habitat: Dense forests, montane moss forests, hilly areas, forest margins and coastal swamps
Diet: Young saplings, bamboo, leaves, fruits, twigs, bark and plants in secondary growth
Size: Up to 9.5 ft in length and 2,000 lbs in weight
Description: Reddish-brown in color; thick, leathery skin covered in long hair; two deep skin folds encircling body; thick and short in stature; long front horn; short secondary horn
Cool Facts: It marks its territory by breaking saplings, spraying urine on vegetation and depositing feces in scrapes — bare patches that it makes with a movement of the hind feet.
Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
Major Threat(s): Poaching and habitat loss
What Can I Do?: Visit
SOS Rhino and
The International Rhino Foundation for information on how you can help.
