One of last three Sumatran rhinos in Sabah suffering life-threatening infection

Puntung and Tam, pictured here in their pen at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu, are two of the last three surviving Sumatran rhinos in Sabah.

KOTA KINABALU: Sabah's hope of keeping Sumatran rhinos alive and well in the state is quickly fading, with one of the last three animals there suffering a life-threatening infection.

Sabah Wildlife Department Director Augustine Tuuga said an abscess was found in the upper jaw of Puntung, a female rhino under the care of the Borneo Rhino Sanctuary at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu.