British zoo returns rhino

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.