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Sumatran rhinos are critically endangered. With 30 or fewer in the wild today, just how much longer the amazing creature will be able to survive is uncertain. This is why IVF technology is being considered to save endangered Sumatran rhinos from going extinct.
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Once a species that was found in regions around Asia, the Sumatran rhino now exclusively calls Borneo and Sumatra home. Between a low population and the rhinos being a solitary species, there are no known Sumatran rhinos to be born in the wild in decades. Captive Sumatran rhinos have fared better with a few rhinos being born, but it is not nearly enough to bring the species back from the brink.
To give the Sumatran rhinos a chance at survival, researchers from the Bogor Agricultural University are working on "assisted reproductive technology".
Essentially IVF, "the sperm cell is injected directly into the egg cell" and then is frozen in liquid nitrogen until the Sumatran rhino is ready to be implanted with a fertilized egg.
The process of IVF could be continued for as long as researchers are able to extract eggs from female Sumatran rhinos.
With Sumatran rhinos not ovulating on a particular schedule, however, the process of IVF may prove to be quite an undertaking. But with so few Sumatran rhinos left in the wild, researchers believe the undertaking is one that is worthwhile.
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Why The Sumatran Rhinos Are Endangered
Sumatran rhinos have a variety of factors against them that have led the population to near-extinction levels. While their numbers have never been as high as other species, at one point, around one million years ago, it is estimated that there were 58,000 Sumatran rhinos in the wild.
The population has dramatically declined since the rhinos' peak of over 50,000 individuals. This is because 12,000 years ago there were 700 Sumatran rhinos and by 2008 there were approximately 250. Today, there is an estimated 30 Sumatran rhinos in the wild.
Sumatran rhinos once lived in multiple regions of Asia. From Bhutan to India, Myanmar, Thailand, and even China. This helped the population to thrive in such a vast habitat. But over the years, the habitat has been taken away to the point where the Sumatran rhinos only live in Sumatra and Borneo.
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Such a small region to live in has been a big factor in the decline of the Sumatran rhino population. If it is not construction or invasive species taking over the areas where the rhinos would live, it is protected areas like Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park, that are supposed to be a path to conservation and adventure, that are illegally used to grow coffee and rice.
But perhaps the biggest problem that faces the Sumatran rhino is the illegal wildlife trade.
While the rhinos are a protected species, poachers hunt them down for their horns. The horns are then put into medication or are carved as a status symbol. Despite there being authorities working to protect the Sumatran rhinos, with such a large market for the horns in China and Vietnam, the illegal killing of the Sumatran rhinos continues and is pushing the species to extinction.
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Issues With Breeding Sumatran Rhinos In Captivity
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In 1986, when the Sumatran rhino population was declining rapidly, the conservationists decided to put the rhinos in captivity. This way, they would be protected, and the hope was that they would mate.
Unfortunately, the road to getting the rhinos to mate was not an easy one. It took years to discover how females ovulated. Then there were several miscarriages for the females that did become pregnant. It was not until September 13, 2001, that the first Sumatran rhino was born in captivity in over 100 years.
To date, there have only been five Sumatran rhinos born in captivity.
While keeping the Sumatran rhinos in captivity has helped to keep the species alive, it is clear that the rhinos breeding every few years is not going to be enough to sustain the population. This is why IVF treatments have come into play in hopes of more Sumatran rhinos being born in captivity.
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The overall goal is not to keep Sumatran rhinos in captivity indefinitely. Instead, if the population can stabilize, conservationists want to return them to their wild habitats. But with illegal trade rampant and the habitat where the Sumatran rhinos can live getting smaller by the day, whether this will be able to happen remains to be seen.