One of Malaysia’s last three Sumatran rhinos was euthanized to relieve her suffering from untreatable cancer.
And then there were two.
One of Malaysia’s last three Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) was euthanized this past weekend to relieve her suffering from untreatable cancer. Puntung, a 25-year-old female, survived a poacher’s trap as a calf, leaving her with just three feet for most of her life. Conservationists captured her from the wild in 2011 and she has spent her time since then living at Tabin Wildlife Reserve.
The Borneo Rhino Alliance estimates that fewer than 100 rhinos from this critically endangered species still exist in all of Indonesia, where their remaining populations cling on in small, fragmented populations.
is the editor of The Revelator. An award-winning environmental journalist, his work has appeared in Scientific American, Audubon, Motherboard, and numerous other magazines and publications. His “Extinction Countdown” column has run continuously since 2004 and has covered news and science related to more than 1,000 endangered species. He is a member of the Society of Environmental Journalists and the National Association of Science Writers. John lives on the outskirts of Portland, Ore., where he finds himself surrounded by animals and cartoonists.
