Its discovery had been greeted with great enthusiasm by biologists, environmentalists and nature lovers in general. Before the capture of a female Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), named Najaq, it had been roughly forty years since a specimen of this species had been sighted by human eyes in the East Kalimantan region of Indonesian Borneo.

The rhinoceros had been captured by the WWF using a trap employed to monitor wild species, and the plan involved relocating it to a protected nature reserve in Borneo, approximately 150 kilometres away, to ensure its safety and reduce the risk of poaching. Sadly, however, Najaq will never reach the reserve and will not be able to help perpetuate her magnificent and endangered species. The female rhinoceros died as a result of an infection in one of her hind legs.

The news was announced by the International Rhino Foundation, which stated that an investigation will be carried out to establish the causes of the animal's death and determine whether the infection developed as a result of the trapping. If that were the case, conservation strategies would likely need to be reassessed — strategies whose ultimate aim is undoubtedly to preserve animal species, but which sometimes prove too "aggressive".

"We hope that the next rhinoceros captured in Kalimantan can be sent to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, where it can be cared for by handlers and veterinarians," reads a statement from the International Rhino Foundation on its page. "But, above all, we hope it can become part of the species population management strategy, while efforts are made to establish with precision its presence in Kalimantan and to put in place an appropriate long-term plan."

According to WWF Indonesia, the wound that killed Najaq had been caused by a poachers' trap; at the time of capture, the animal was given a course of treatment involving antibiotics, anti-inflammatories and vitamins, under the supervision of a team of veterinarians from five different organisations, including WWF. Initially it appeared that the rhinoceros might recover — it had begun eating regularly — but then the infection worsened.

Najaq's death represents a further severe blow to the species, already decimated by poaching and habitat loss caused primarily by deforestation and mining. Fewer than one hundred individuals are estimated to survive in the wild, making the Sumatran rhinoceros one of the rarest mammals on Earth.