The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) is a Texas-based charity focused on the conservation of the five species of rhinoceros which include the White Rhinoceros and Black Rhinoceros of Africa, and the Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoceros of Asia.
History In the late 1980s the population of black rhinos, particularly in Zimbabwe, was dropping at an alarming rate. To help combat the decline, the International Black Rhino Foundation was founded in 1989. The IBRF worked with both in-situ conservation (protecting animals in their native habitat) and ex-situ conservation (protecting animals "off-site" such as in zoos or non-native nature reserves). The south-central black rhinoceros, which lives in Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Tanzania, had a population of around 9,090 in 1980, but due to a wave of illegal poaching for its horn their numbers decreased to 1,300 in 1995. Due to the efforts of conservation groups like the International Black Rhino Foundation, the population has stabilized, illegal poaching has been reduced, and the population has even been growing. The population of south-central black rhinoceros was around 1,650 in 2001. Nine years later, there are about 4,000 black rhinos in the wild. In 1993, the IBRF changed its name to the International Rhino Foundation and expanded its focus to all five species of rhinoceros. The International Rhino Foundation helps manage programs in both nature and captivity and also funds research into rhinos. IRF programs in captivity focus on developing ways to help rhinos in the wild.
Programs The International Rhino Foundation is active in several areas of rhino conservation. It hosts the Web sites for the African Rhino Specialist Group and the Asian Rhino Specialist Group of the Species Survival Commission of the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
Sumatran and Javan rhino protection The Critically Endangered Sumatran and Javan rhinoceros may be the most threatened of all land mammals on Earth. Fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos remain, primarily on Indonesia's Sumatra Island. The population of Javan rhinos numbers only around 65–68 animals. Over the past 10 years, however, losses of Sumatran and Javan rhino have been nearly eliminated in Indonesia through intensive anti-poaching and intelligence activities by IRF-funded Rhino Protection Units. The successes of these units have kept the two species from extinction and are critical for their continued population recovery. Sumatran rhinos are considered extinct in Malaysia, but a tiny population (no more than 10) has recently been found in Kalimantan on the Island of Borneo. Overall, the population of Sumatran rhinos has decreased at a rate of about 50% over the past 15 years, largely from habitat encroachment, deforestation and habitat fragmentation. In Indonesia, IRF funds Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) which rigorously patrol forests to destroy snares and traps (the main method of poaching for these species) and apprehend poachers. By gathering intelligence from local communities, RPUs also proactively prevent poaching attempts before they take place. RPUs are effective in protecting the rhino from poachers – only five Sumatran rhinos have been lost to poachers since the inception of the program, and no Javan rhinos have been killed. Eleven patrol units operate in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra, one of the highest priority areas for Sumatran megafauna. Approximately 15 Sumatran rhino inhabit the Park, along with 40–50 Sumatran tigers and around 500 Asian elephants. Nine patrol units operate in Way Kambas National Park, which has a resident population of about 30 Sumatran rhino and is also the site of the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. Five patrol units operate in Ujung Kulon National Park, home to the only remaining viable population of Javan rhinos in the world.
Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary
Because of the challenges and uncertainties of conserving the Sumatran rhino, the IUCN Species Survival Commission's Asian Rhino Specialist Group recommended developing a captive breeding program as part of a larger population management strategy. In the early 1990s, managed propagation centers (known as "sanctuaries") were developed in native habitat in the range states, to which some captive rhinos were repatriated. The first center is the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) in Way Kambas National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia. The SRS encompasses 100 hectares (250 acres) for propagation, research, and education, and received its first rhino in 1998. Until recently, the Sanctuary held only one pair of animals, which were not reproductively sound. The SRS is now home to nine animals, including calves born in 2012, 2016, 2022, and 2023. It is staffed by two full-time Indonesian veterinarians, 11 keepers, several administrative and support staff, and protection units. Over the years, a number of circumstantial, medical, and management problems have been addressed and overcome. As a result, within the last decade, the husbandry and captive propagation of Sumatran rhinos has passed from its infancy to its adolescence. The International Rhino Foundation has been steadfastly working to address these issues with the expertise of numerous veterinarians and reproductive biologists. The ten Sumatran rhinos living at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary serve as ambassadors for their wild counterparts; instruments for education for local communities and the general public; an "insurance population" that can be used to re-establish or revitalize wild populations that have been eliminated or debilitated; an invaluable resource for basic and applied biological research; and, in the future, as sources of animals for reintroductions, once threats have been ameliorated in the wild.
Indian Rhino Vision 2020
… excerpt ends here. Continue reading the full article.
