A FEW GOOD YEARS FOR PUNTUNG
The rhino led a painful and lonely life before it was found in 2011
AND then there were two.
Puntung, the Sumatran rhino, was put to sleep at the Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Lahad Datu.
The female rhino was one of three kept at the reserve with hopes of reviving the endangered species that had been declared extinct in the wild in 2015.
Now, only a male called Kertam and a female named Iman remain in captivity at a sanctuary dedicated to rhinos.
Puntung led a painful and lonely life before it was found in 2011 in the reserve, which covers 120,000ha.
It was found with a severed left hoof, possibly snared by a trap made of a looped metal cable that cinches its prey ruthlessly.
No one knows how and when the hoof came off, but it must have been agonising. Its hobbled stride told of its suffering in the wild.
Though naturally a solitary and territorial animal, adult rhinos would regularly seek each other for mating.
That would not have been likely for Puntung, or even for Kertam and Iman, before they were brought together at Tabin.
Its scarcity in numbers and fragmented forests would not have allowed the three rhinos, described as national treasures, to meet.
When Puntung was found, the rhino was called the “Christmas miracle” because of the season then.
Many thought it would be the perfect partner for Kertam, the “royal stud” in waiting.
Hopes withered as it was discovered that Puntung had cysts in its reproductive organs.
Capturing Puntung in the wild took rangers and trackers nearly five years after they first found evidence of its existence in 2007.
They found odd-looking tracks, because of its severed hoof, its dung and scratch marks on tree trunks.
Borneo Rhino Alliance (Bora) tracker Justin Sigunting, who encountered it twice in the wild before its capture, had described his experience as a privilege.
Justin, who was among a handful of trackers assigned to regular patrols in search of rhinos for several years, was eventually made a caretaker.
It is hard to imagine the devastation felt by Bora field manager Dr Zainal Zahari Zainuddin and his team, who were with Puntung from day one.
The veterinarian and the caretakers live steps away from the three paddocks where the rhinos are fed and cared for at the sanctuary.
Each paddock leads to fenced enclosures, where the rhinos roam and wallow in mud pits, returning only during feeding time.
When the females are on heat, trap doors are opened for Kertam to find its way to either Puntung or Iman.
On its own, the rhinos snort and bellow aggressively, but when pampered with food and a hosed bath, they squeak faintly with grunts.
There was also the presence of the two other rhinos and occasional romp it had with Kertam. But all that ended with the cancer it had.
The signs were there when Puntung began losing its appetite in March and a big lump grew on the face.
Surgery was performed and relieved it of some pain as it began eating more. But checks revealed it was dying.
Euthanasia was probably the option as it was hard to see Puntung suffer in pain.
Discussions, suggestions, criticisms, plans and programmes will go on now that only Kertam and Iman are left.
For Puntung, it is safe to assume it had a better life at the sanctuary, even for a few years, with the care and attention given.