PRESS RELEASE -
SOS Rhino recieves product grant from Handspring Foundation
Chicago, IL -- SOS RHINO received a donation of 25 Handspring Deluxe
Visor handheld computers from the Handspring Foundation. The visors
will be used for the Sumatran Rhinoceros Project, Sabah, Borneo.
SOS RHINO Borneo team members, consisting of researchers, scientists,
and field assistants, are using the latest technology available
to coordinate the survey of the Sumatran rhinos in Tabin Wildlife
Reserve, Sabah, Borneo. The initial field research is focused on
determining the demographics of the rhino located in an area believed
to have the largest remaining population of the Bornean sub-species
of the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumtraensis harrisoni).
Annelisa Kilbourn, the SOS Rhino Field Scientist and Wildlife Veterinarian,
said, “without this grant we would need an additional one to
two years to complete our survey project. We are grateful for this
donation. This work will establish a foundation for the preservation
of a little known species, the pygmy rhino of Borneo.”
The Visor devices coupled with icon based CybertTracker software
speeds up training and transfer of data. Language barriers are crossed
quickly. The software allow researchers to plot data point and collect
information on terrain, flora, habitat utilization, wildlife, spore
signs, human and animal contact, and to define natural barriers
correlated to GPS coordinates.
Gisela Bushey, Worldwide Manager of the Handspring Foundation writes,
“we appreciate the work of SOS Rhino and are pleased to support
their efforts”.
A volunteer program allows interested individuals a chance to participate
in a rhino survey in Tabin to help make a difference.
For more information on SOS Rhino Borneo and the team’s use
of the latest technology, visit www.sosrhino.org
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