ORDER PERISSODACTYLA I ODD-TOED UNGULATES 387 



Whether or no commercialism is the reason for the practical disappearance 

 of Rhinoceros sondaicus I am not prepared to say. But the fact remains 

 that it is rarely, if ever, seen nowadays. It is believed that two or three are 

 still to be found in the swampy lands of South Perak. There is no certainty, 

 however, about this. 



Loch writes (1937, p. 135) on its status in Malaya: 



Few specimens of the Javan rhinoceros are left in Malaya at the present 

 time. In the state of Perak, at least three are believed to exist in the Erong 

 and Chawang areas, to the west of Trolak. At least one is to be found in the 

 Lekir district, on the other side of the Perak River near Sitiawan. After the 

 shooting of a sondaicus in 1928 at Ujong Pematang, a search was made at 

 the instance of the Game Warden in the area between the Selangor and 

 Bernam Rivers. The results were unsatisfactory, but it is believed that the 

 tracks of two were found. These half-dozen are all that are known to exist 

 in the Malay Peninsula. There may be others; it is sad to think there may 

 not be so many. . . . 



We do not know if the Javan rhinoceros was ever numerous in the Malay 

 Peninsula previous to the British occupation of the Straits Settlements. Early 

 Portuguese and Dutch writers refer to the "badaks" to be found inland, and 

 there must have been a continuous trade in rhinoceros horns between the 

 Malays and merchants from China. 



Loch also enumerates (pp. 135-140) the known records from 

 Malaya, as follows: Province Wellesley, 1816; Pahang, an un- 

 verified sight record in 1891 (the only record from the east side of 

 the Malay Peninsula) ; Temoh, Perak, 1890's; Batu Gajah, in Kinta, 

 two in 1897; Sungai Palawan, Lower Perak, 1898; Pinji Valley, in 

 Kinta, 1899; Bindings and Bruas district of Perak, four between 

 1905 and 1921; Telok Anson, 1924 and 1932; Ujong Permatang, 

 Selangor, 1928. 



"Whether or not the species still exists in the Malay Peninsula 

 is a moot point. My own view is that this species should not be 

 killed under any circumstance, scientific, or otherwise." (F. N. 

 Chasen, in litt., May 5, 1937.) 



Sumatra. Hazewinkel (1933, p. 1019) records the killing of 

 seven specimens in Sumatra, and adds: "The Chinese gladly pay 

 quite a lot of money for the hide of the one-horned rhino (up to fl. 

 1500) , and, in particular, the chula, or horn, will fetch fancy prices, 

 even up to 4000 guilders (nearly 500) . The two-horned Rhinoceros 

 Sumatrensis is, on the contrary, far less valuable: will fetch, in 

 fact, only about one-tenth of the above-mentioned prices. Hide, 

 horn, bloods, and other parts of the body, pulverized or as an 

 extract, provide the most essential ingredients for very potent and 

 renowned medicines. According to the Chinese and the natives, 

 those medicines should be able to give back lost strength, youth, 

 and vitality, and cure various diseases. The horns are sometimes 

 modelled into goblets. Water or some other liquid, when left in such 



