Scientists keep skin cells hoping to clone Sumatran rhinos in future

Tam is estimated to be 23 years old, considered rather middle-age for a Sumatran rhino and thus his sperm would be imperative towards the continuity of his species.

KOTA KINABALU: Scientists are keeping the skin cells of Sabah’s three remaining Sumatran rhinos in the hope of using future tech­nology to breed the threatened species.

Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) executive director Datuk John Payne said Sumatran rhinos in Sabah are considered extinct in the wild and with only three left in captivity, Sabah alone is not able to save them.