British zoo returns rhino

BANDAR LAMPUNG, Lampung: A two-horned Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatranus), which has been living in London's Hawlett Zoo for the past 11 years, has been returned to its habitat at the Way Kambas National Park in Lampung, South Sumatra.

The rhino arrived at Jakarta's Soekarno-Hatta International Airport last Wednesday and was taken directly to Way Kambas early Thursday, head of the Tanjungkarang Natural Resources Conservation Center, Harjanto Wahju Sukotjo, was quoted by Antara as saying yesterday.

The male rhino was the first to be returned under a program to repatriate the endangered animal from Britain. The program was organized by the center in cooperation with the International Rhino Foundation.

A number of rhinos are awaiting repatriation, including two female rhinos from the Indonesian Safari Garden in Cisarua, Bogor, West Java province and the Ragunan Zoo in Jakarta.

The national parks' rhino center had prepared at least 10 special cages for the rhinos that will be returned.

The foundation will return one rhino from Britain, three from the United States and two from Germany.

The rhinos were sent abroad in a trial program to breed them outside their habitat. But after several years, the program proved to be unsuccessful and the rhinos are now being returned to their habitat to enable them to breed there.

Between 100 to 150 rhinos can be found in Sumatra, 12 to 15 of which are in Lampung. Seventy to 100 rhinos can be found in the Malaysian peninsula, and 50 to 70 more in Sabah, East Malaysia.

A small population of the Javanese rhino (Rhinoceros sundaicus), which is almost extinct, can be found at the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java.