Distribution Status and Feeding Ecology of the Sumatran Rhinoceros in Malaysia
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University of Montana ScholarWorks at University of Montana Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers Graduate School 1983 Distribution status and feeding ecology of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia Rodney W. Flynn The University of Montana Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd Let us know how access to this document benefits ou.y Recommended Citation Flynn, Rodney W., "Distribution status and feeding ecology of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia" (1983). Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers. 6696. https://scholarworks.umt.edu/etd/6696 This Thesis is brought to you for free and open access by the Graduate School at ScholarWorks at University of Montana. It has been accepted for inclusion in Graduate Student Theses, Dissertations, & Professional Papers by an authorized administrator of ScholarWorks at University of Montana. For more information, please contact [email protected]. COPYRIGHT ACT OF 1976 Th i s is an unpublished m a n u s c r i p t in w h i c h c o p y r i g h t s u b s i s t s . Any f u r t h e r r e p r i n t i n g of its c o n t e n t s m u s t be a p p r o v e d BY THE AUTHOR. Ma n s f i e l d L ib rary Un i v e r s i t y ^pJIp^TANA Da t e : l & b à Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. DISTRIBUTION, STATUS, AND FEEDING ECOLOGY OF THE SUMATRAN RHINOCEROS IN MALAYSIA BY Rodney W. Flynn B. S., University of Montana, 1974 Presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science UNIVERSITY OF MONTANA 1983 Approved by: Chairman, Board of Examiners Dean, Graduate Scmrol 8 August 1983 Date Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. UMI Number: EP37497 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. UMT 0ia«art8tion Rjblishing UMI EP37497 Published by ProQuest LLC (2013). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Pro.Q^st* ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 810 6 - 1346 Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. Flynn, Rodney W., M.S., Summer 1983 Wildlife Biology Distribution, Status, and Feeding Ecology of the Sumatran Rhinoceros in Peninsular Malaysia. (186 pp.) Director: Bart W. O'Gara^ The distribution, status, and feeding ecology of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Peninsular Malaysia was investigated from 1975 to 1981. Information on distribution and status country-wide was collected from field surveys, interviews with people living near rhino areas, and the literature. I confirmed that rhinos presently occur in 10 isolated areas scattered throughout the Malay Peninsula. The number of rhinos was estimated at 50 to 80 with the Endau-Rompin (20-25), Taman Negara (8-12), and Sungai Dusun (4-6) areas containing the largest contiguous populations. The Sumatran rhino is threatened with extinction in Peninsular Malaysia. Excessive killing of rhinos has greatly reduced numbers; habitat destruction from logging and land clearance for agricultural development have reduced the amount of available habitat and isolated small populations. The Endau-Rompin region was found to be the most suitable site to maintain a viable population of rhinos in Malaysia because it contains the largest number of animals, evidence of reproduction has been Observed, a law enforcement program has been started, and a portion of the area (870 km^)has been proposed for national park status. Feeding ecology of the Sumatran rhino was studied in the Endau-Rompin region, southern Peninsular Malaysia, to provide information on foods eaten and habitats selected. Feeding sites were located by following recent rhino tracks. Within primary hill forest, Sumatran rhinos selected feeding sites in stream bottom (59%) and lower slope (34%) physiographic types. Small forest gaps (35%) were used more than their availability (15%), but most of the feeding cases were in closed-canopy forest (63%). Sumatran rhinos were mostly browsers, feeding primarily on the mature leaves of woody understory plants. Large, fleshy fruits were eaten occassionally. The diet was diverse with 49 plant families, 102 genera, and between 156 to 181 species represented in 342 feeding cases. Prunus sp. (15.1%), Ficus sp. (6.4%), Pavetta sp. (6.1%), Medusanthera sp. (3.8%), and Eugenia sp. (3.0) contributed the greatest amounts to diet proportions. Chemical analyses of plant materials, collected from certain food plants and randomly selected non-food plants, indicated that Sumatran rhinos selected plants and plant parts high in minerals and crude protein but low in fiber. Phenolics and tannins were tolerated in the diet, but principal food plants contained less tannin. ii Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people and organizations contributed to the success of this project. In this section, I would like to acknowledge people that assisted in conducting the overall project. People that contributed to specific aspects of the study have been acknowledged at the end of that particular section. Financial support for this project was provided by the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks, World Wildlife Fund, the Smithsonian-Peace Corps Environmental Program, the National Wildlife Federation, and the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit. Special thanks go to the personnel of the Malaysian Department of Wildlife and National Parks (DWNP), and the Malaysian Government as a whole, for their assistance in all aspects of this study. In particular, I thank Mr. Mohd. Khan bin Momin Khan, Director-General, DWNP, for sponsering this project and providing the required direction, encouragement, and support to complete it. Many thanks go to Mr. Louis Ratnam, Research Officer, for introducing me to the Malaysian environment, providing administrative support, coordinating the field work, and contributing many ideas. The fine collaboration of Mohd. Tajuddin Abdullah, Deputy Research Officer, is gratefully acknowledged. The DWNP‘'s field staff assisted admirably throughout the project, especially the game rangers of the Rhino Unit. Encik Abdullah Ibrahim, Senior Ranger, introduced me to the ways of working in the ill Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. jungle and provided many hours of assistance in the field. Also, I thank the directors of the state offices for providing men and equipment as needed, especially Ahmat Harun, Ahmat Zabidi, Jamari Abdullah, Musa Nordin, and Peter Fong. Collabration during this study with personnel of the Forest Research Institute, Malaysian Department of Forestry, was extremely valuable. Mr. K. Kochummen, Forest Botanist, identified most of the plant materials and provided information on the ecological characteristics of the collected plant taxa. Dr. F . Ng identified additional plant materials and contributed ideas on rain forest ecology. Information on rainfall was provided by the Director-General, Department of Irrigation and Drainage. Personnel of the Department of Socio-economic Research and Planning and the Department of Immigration provided the visa clearance required to conduct research in Malaysia. I thank the staffs of the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (lUCN) and the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for providing the grants needed to complete this study. Drs. R. and L. Schenkel encouraged me to continue these studies, helped obtain additional funding, and shared many ideas on rhino biology. Dr. A. Fernhout, Program Manager, administered the WWF grants and provided timely bank drafts. Special thanks go to Dr, B. O'Cara, Director of my Graduate Committee, for thoughtful advice and editing of the manuscript. My other Committee members, Drs. C. Jonkel and A. Sheldon, provided many useful ideas on the research plan, suggestions on the data analysis, and constructive comments on the manuscript. Dr. R. Ream contributed many XV Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission. valuable ideas on plant sampling techniques. I thank the staff of the Montana Cooperative Wildlife Research Unit, particularly Ginger Schwartz, for cheerfully helping with many tasks during my trips abroad. I am particularly indebted to Paul Conry, a fellow jungle treker, for enduring many sweaty days in the field helping to collect data and several sleepless nights typing parts the manuscript. Cathy Connor drafted most of the figures, edited the manuscript, and provided the necessary encouragement to complete this paper. My many thanks to Dr. P. Waterman, Phytochemistry Research Laboratory, University of Strathclyde, Mr. Chan Khoon San, Highlands Research Unit, and Dr. K. C. Chan, University of Malaya, for completing the chemical analyses of the plant materials. Many people contributed stimulating ideas on tropical ecology, particularly P. Becker, P. Conry, M. Wong, R. Olivier, C. Marsh, M. Monroe, J. Wright, J. Putz, K, Wolf, K. Rubeli, P. Waterman, J. Payne, G. Davies, F. Ng, and K. Kochummen. My background on Asian rhino biology was expanded greatly by discussions with Andrew Laurie in Nepal and Nico Van Strien in Sumatra. Early phases of this project were greatly facilited by the assistance of the staff of Peace Corps Malaysia, especially J. Ferguson, C. Diniger, R. Graulik, and K. French. Dr. J. Sherbourne, Smithsonian-Peace Corps Environmental Program, helped in project development and provided a supplement grant.