Three rhinos die in captivity within weeks

BY TAN CHENG LI

PETALING JAYA: Three rhinoceroses in the country’s main rhino breeding centre have died over the past two weeks, bringing to five the number of dead captive rhinos within two years. 

A female rhino, Putih, died at the Sungai Dusun Rhinoceros Conservation Centre in Selangor on Oct 29, followed by a male, Ara, on Sunday and a female, Panjang, on Monday .  

Last January, 16-year-old Shah died after supposedly recovering from a short illness.  

In April, 27-year-old Rima was found dead in her enclosure.  

A post-mortem concluded that she died of old age. 

Mohd Khan Momin Khan, chairman of the Malaysian Rhino Foundation (a rhino conservation organisation which supports the breeding programme) said the latest mortalities occurred suddenly.  

“Putih was found dead after she was brought in from a larger enclosure the previous evening.  

“Ara started having difficulty breathing on Saturday. We treated him all night and by 3am on Sunday, he appeared to be all right and was able to stand. But he suddenly died at 11.30am,” said Mohd Khan.  

At the same time, he said, Panjang started having similar breathing problems and died on Monday morning. 

Post-mortems by veterinarians at Universiti Putra Malaysia showed that the animals died of septicaemia, a condition where bacteria invades and poisons body organs and blood systems.  

A veterinarian who declined to be named said the rhinos had lesions and bleeding in their intestines and lungs.  

He said the bacteria could have originated from contaminated food, water or the animals’ surroundings, adding that efforts to isolate and identify the bacteria were under way and would help determine the source of the contamination.