AS NOTED by Tuan Roland Nuin (Deputy Director of Sabah Wildlife Department) , after the deaths of rhinos Tam and Iman in 2019, the national Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources requested that my NGO, Borneo Rhino Alliance, or Bora, write a book to explain the background leading to the first extinction of a mammal species in Malaysia.
This was after years of effort to protect the species in the wild and following decades-long efforts to form a captive breeding programme.
I am fortunate to have quite a long background involvement with this rhino species, starting in the 1970s, in both Malaysia and Indonesia.
I spent much time between 1980 and 1986 surveying for the species in eastern Sabah.
The book outlines many aspects of this rhino.
Today I choose just a few points that I feel are most significant.
The real reasons
So why did this rhino species go extinct in Malaysia?
Let me tell you upfront, the extinction has little to d