April 23, 2017
KOTA KINABALU: A global team of veterinary experts has successfully pulled off a life-saving operation on Puntung, one of the last three Sumatran Rhinos in Malaysia.
April 23, 2017
Kota Kinabalu: A life-saving operation has now given a new lease of life to Puntung, one of the two remaining female Sumatran rhinos in the country.
April 23, 2017
The Borneo Post, 20 April 2017
KOTA KINABALU: After a successful dental surgery, Puntung, one of the only two female Sumatran rhinos still alive in Malaysia is showing signs of improvement.
She has started eating and wildlife officials and rhino conservationists in the state breathed a big sigh of relief after the surgery by Thai veterinary dentist Dr Tum Chinkangsadarn, State Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said.
Puntung has been suffering since mid-March from an abscess inside her upper jaw that would not heal despite treatment.
Augustine said that Dr Tum extracted two molar teeth and one premolar from Puntung’s left upper jaw during the operation that lasted two hours and twenty minutes on Wednesday morning.
“This was a remarkable and successful operation that came about as a result of global discussion and multi-national collaboration over the past two weeks,” he said.
“Sabah thanks Dr Tum and the team who had not worked together before but who did a fantastic job. Dr Abraham Mathew, senior veterinarian from Singapore zoo helped with anaesthesia. Dr Johan Marais and Dr Zoe Glyphis of South Africa-based ‘Saving the Survivors’ initiated the planning, advised on procedures and provided major financial support to ensure that the team got together in Tabin.
“We had vets in attendance and assisting from my department as well as Wildlife Department and National Parks Peninsular Malaysia and Borneo Rhino Alliance,” he said.
The procedure started at 7am with X-rays done under sedation. Then Puntung was put under general anaesthesia for 110 minutes.
Dr Tum noted severe calcification of one large molar, which is where bacteria initially accumulated and led to the abscess. The calcification has also loosened two adjacent teeth.
Borneo Rhino Alliance veterinarian Dr Zainal Z Zainuddin said, “We are so relieved and very grateful to Dr Tum, ‘Saving the Survivors’ and the specialist vets who had given Puntung a new lease of life.
“Incredibly, she started feeding within two hours of the operation ending. But we are not done yet. There will be a period of post operation care which will mean trying to keep Puntung clean, stress-free and under medication including for pain relief,” Dr Zainal said.
To a question if the removal of Puntung’s molar would affect her survival as she won’t be able to chew properly, Augustine replied, “We hope for the best.”
Read the article on The Borneo Post online
April 23, 2017
KOTA KINABALU: Puntung, one of three remaining Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia which was reported to be critically-ill last month, is recovering following surgery this morning.
April 23, 2017
A media update from the Sabah Wildlife Department: Wildlife officials and rhino conservationists breathed a big sigh of relief today (19 April 2017) after successful surgery on Puntung, one of only two female Sumatran rhinos still alive in Malaysia.
April 11, 2017
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.
April 11, 2017
KOTA KINABALU: The Sabah Wildlife Department is not in the mood to celebrate just yet, although its critically-ill Sumatran rhino, Puntung, is showing signs of improvement.
April 9, 2017
By now, a majority of the public are aware of Puntung's condition. BORA had not released a statement till now, as we were hoping for Puntung to get better, but sadly she has shown little improvement.
February 1, 2017
As part of efforts to raise funds for BORA, in December 2016 students from the International School of Kuala Lumpur's (ISKL) MS Art Department created an installation of ceramic rhinos.
December 19, 2016
NST Online 18 Dec 2016 by Olivia Mivil: ALL the remaining Sumatran rhinos in Malaysia and Indonesia, which number less than 100, should be managed as a single population to facilitate the reproduction of the critically-endangered species.
BORA has recently launched a pair of publications that compile all our knowledge on the food plants of wild Bornean Orangutans. The aim is to energise what we believe to be actions for the conservation of our endangered red apes.
This publication was produced as part of the "Experimental Habitat Restoration for Orangutans in Kinabatangan landscape", a project by the Sabah Landscapes Programme under WWF Malaysia, funded by Unilever.
"An Illustrated Guide to Bornean Orangutan Food Plants" is a practical toolkit and provides a road map to enrich set aside lands within the mixed landscape of oil palm plantations which dominate Sabah's northeast to contribute to Orangutan conservation.
The actions are uncomplicated and can be easily adopted. What now remains is for key stakeholders, particularly the plantation sector, to adopt habitat enrichment as their contribution to safeguarding Sabah's wildlife.
The publication may be downloaded for free here.
"Habitat Restoration for Fruit-eating Wildlife" is a handbook illustrated with over 80 photos. It provides a comprehensive guide to all aspects of propagating, planting and maintaining native trees, hemiepiphytes and lianas, with an emphasis on Ficus (wild figs) in the equatorial region of Borneo.
Together with text that outlines the bigger picture, the publication provides details of good nursery practice, vegetative propagation, seed preparation and storage, and strategies for dealing with common problems.
The publication may be downloaded for free here.
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