There is one species of rhino in Borneo, commonly called the Sumatran rhinoceros, with the scientific name Dicerorhinus sumatrensis. The Borneo form of this rhino is considered to be a separate subspecies (D. S. harrissoni) from the rhinos on Sumatra Island and mainland Malaysia. They feed on the leaves of a wide variety of seedlings and young trees. Unlike other rhino species and other large herbivorous mammals in Borneo (elephant, wild cattle, deer), the Sumatran rhino is a strict forest-dweller that ventures out of forest cover only in unusual situations. Sumatran rhinos are currently found in peninsular Malaysia, and on the islands of Borneo (Sabah, Malaysia) and Sumatra (Indonesia).
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The main reasons for the drop in rhino numbers are illegal hunting and the fact that the remaining rhinos are so isolated they may rarely or never meet to breed. In addition, there is evidence that a high proportion of the female rhinos on Borneo have reproductive problems. Many of the remaining rhinos are old and possibly beyond reproductive age, so the death rate may be exceeding the birth rate.
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A field survey of Sabah's rhinos in May 2005 involved about 120 people in 16 teams. It was undertaken by the Sabah Wildlife Department, Sabah Forestry Department, Sabah Parks, the Sabah Foundation, the Kinabatangan Orang-utan Conservation Project, S.O.S Rhino, Universiti Malaysia Sabah, Operation Raleigh and WWF-Malaysia. Also participating in the effort to protect Borneo's remaining rhinos are the Sabah Wildlife Department, the Sabah Foundation, S.O.S Rhino, Honda Malaysia and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
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Other threatened wildlife in Borneo includes clouded leopards, sun bears, and three species of leaf monkeys found nowhere else in the world. The island is also home to 10 primate species, more than 350 bird species, 150 reptiles and amphibians and 15,000 plants.
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