Sumatra
Trip Update From Robin The trip was hectic and full of work with the rhinos and meetings about both in situ and ex situ rhino conservation. Really good stuff where I am glad Fossil Rim has a presence. The animal work involved the old male Sumatran rhino at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) located in Way Kambas National Park in SE Sumatra. We know that Torgamba is suffering from renal (kidney) disease, but on this trip we also identified another significant problem that needed our assistance. He was dropping his food and could not masticate properly. In just under one month with this problem he had lost almost 100 kg. Using a flashlight to carefully examine Torgamba's teeth and oral cavity we found that he had long "points" on his molars. In horses they have special instruments called dental "floats" that are basically rasps used to file down the sharp points of the teeth. I have done this in horses, but never in a rhino. So the next day we returned to anesthitize Torgamba and float his teeth. It was quite an exercise with many people required to hold the rhino's heavy head and open his mouth wide while we worked on his teeth. It was quite an adventure! It took a while but we finally were able to correct the problem. As soon as Torgamba awoke from anesthesia he was already eating normally again and did not drop any more food. The meetings in Jakarta involved extensive reevaluation of the Indonesian Rhino Conservation Plan and for the captive population which are very exciting! I can provide more details on my return. See you soon. Robin | |||
