KOTA KINABALU: The reconstruction and preservation of the body of the country’s last male Sumatran rhinocerous will begin soon.
Kertam, fondly known as Tam, died on May 27 due to old age and multiple organ failure.
Sabah Wildlife director Augustine Tuuga said Tam’s carcass would be kept at the Tabin Wildlife Forest Reserve in Lahad Datu for now.
“The restructuring and preservation work for Tam will take place in the state capital, depending on who we will collaborate with to do the process.
“Before this, we had worked with the Wildlife and National Parks Department, but the preservation for Tam might be done with the help of Sabah Museum,” he said.
On Sunday, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Christina Liew had announced that Tam’s body would be preserved based on the mammal’s original size and displayed at the state museum.
Augustine said the preservation process would take time as the reconstruction had to be done precisely according to Tam body structure.
The rhino was found at an oil palm plantation in Lahad Datu in 2008 and kept in captivity under Borneo Rhino Alliance in Lahad Datu.