MALAYSIA’S last Sumatran rhinoceros is ailing and Sabah Deputy Chief Minister Christina Liew fears it will die soon.

Liew, who is also Sabah tourism, culture and environment minister, said Iman’s worsening health was confirmed by the medical team headed by Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve.

“A growth in Iman’s uterus has become bigger since it was detected in March 2014 while efforts to get rid of it poses a very high risk.

“Her weight has also dropped to 476kg because her diet is not normal and she has to be given supplementary food to meet her health needs,” she told a media conference in the compound of the Sabah state assembly today.

She said the health condition of the female animal reminded her of Puntong, another Sumatran rhinoceros, which had to be euthanised as the rapid spread of squamous cancer cells caused her great and prolonged suffering.

At the same time, Liew said the state government will speed up the legal process with Indonesia to conduct in vitro fertilisation (IVF).

“It will involve the process of extracting Iman’s eggs to be fertilised with a sumatran rhinoceros’s sperm in Indonesia,” she added. – Bernama, November 20, 2019.