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Mongabay
Mongabay
On the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo, fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos are all that’s left of this critically endangered species. Tremendous conservation efforts are striving to keep these charismatic mammals from being lost forever. But as the species teeters on the brink of extinction, new research suggests their absence throughout much of their former range has left a troubling vacancy in their role as seed-dispersing eco-engineers. Drawing on empirical research, published literature and Indigenous knowledge, a study in Biotropica reports that Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrens…