Iman, the last Sumatran rhino, is dead: the species is practically extinct

In Malaysia, Iman, the last Sumatran rhino, died and now the species is practically extinct, were it not for the few remaining specimens in Indonesia.

He is about to end up run over, his mother saves him

THElast Sumatran rhino, Malaysia, has died of cancer. Her name was Iman, was a female, was 25 years old, lived in the state of Sabah, on the island of Borneo, and her death is particularly serious given that now, in Malaysia, the species is practically extinct.

This was announced by the Minister of State for Tourism, Culture and the Environment Datuk Christina Liew who wrote on facebook:

"Malaysia's last Sumatran rhino, Iman, a female housed at the Vietnam Rhino Sanctuary in Lahad Datu, died of natural causes at 5.35am on Saturday."

23.11.2019 | MALAYSIA'S LAST SUMATRAN RHINO DIES Malaysia’s last Sumatran rhinoceros, Iman, a female that had been in…

Posted by Christina Liew Page on Saturday, November 23, 2019

A death, that of Iman, arrived earlier than expected despite it being known that she was seriously ill due to the pressure exerted by multiple bladder tumors, according to reports from the Malaysian newspaper thestaronline. Kept in a wildlife reserve after her capture in 2014, Iman was unable to survive despite her many cares.

In Sumatra, the last male rhino, Tam, died in May 2019, found on an oil palm plantation in 2008 and moved to Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah state. Tam had been raised alongside two female rhinos, one was Puntang, the other Iman herself, in hopes of encouraging them to breed, but that didn't happen.

In fact, the females of this species tend to develop cysts and fibroids in the reproductive tracts if they remain for too long without mating. And this was the cause of both Puntang and Iman's infertility. The first died long ago and now Iman has also met the same fate.

In Malaysia, the species, due to this umpteenth death, is extinct, but some remain specimens on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and in the Indonesian part of the Borneo. According to Reuters, the latest estimates speak of 40-80 rhinos, therefore a very low number.

Already in 2012 the Sumatran rhino was included in the red list of the 100 most endangered species of the IUCN and unfortunately things have not improved since then, reaching this tragic epilogue.