The mission to save Pari and Pahu is a bruising reminder of a crisis point where human destruction has forced us to rely on helicopters, laboratories and cellular manipulation to address the consequences of decades of habitat loss..Samarinda, E. Kalimantan (ANTARA) – Time is running out for the critically endangered Bornean rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni), with only two known females remaining on earth.Her name is Pari Mahulu. She is young, healthy and entirely alone. Unknown to her, she carries an unimaginable burden: she is the last known Bornean rhinoceros roaming freely in the wild.She is also a ticking clock. Because there are no males left in her fragmented forest, Pari has zero chance of natural reproduction.Somewhere nearby, behind the fortified fences of the Kelian Rhino Sanctuary, lives Pahu—the only other surviving member of their subspecies. She, too, is female.Only two known Bornean rhinos remain, and both are female, placing the subspecies at immediate risk of extinction.Recognizing that leaving Pari in the wild is a death sentence for the lineage, the East Kalimantan Natural Resources Conservation Agency (BKSDA) convened an emergency rescue summit in Balikpapan on June 8.It was not a routine bureaucratic meeting; it was a final, desperate roll of the dice to orchestrate an audacious, high-tech rescue mission.The plan? Capture Pari, airlift her via helicopter, and use cutting-edge In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) to rewrite the final chapter of the Bornean rhino.”Based on these critical conditions, the decision has been made to translocate Pari to a secure facility to preserve the last remaining genetic heritage of the Bornean rhino,” East Kalimantan BKSDA head Ari Wibawanto stated. Technology as new hopeUpon her arrival at the Kelian Rhino Sanctuary, the relatively young and healthy Pari will undergo an unprecedented reproductive procedure.Because no male Bornean rhino exists, scientists will harvest Pari’s eggs and utilize specialized laboratory techniques to preserve and potentially develop embryos using stored genetic material.It is a frontier science experiment, adapted for the ultimate ecological emergency.Wibawanto clarified that extracting Pari from her natural habitat does not mean her home forest will be abandoned to environmental degradation.”We are not extracting the rhino and neglecting the forest. This habitat will remain strictly protected and has been formally proposed as a Preservation Area,” Wibawanto emphasized.”The goal is to ensure that when future generations of rhinos are born through scientific intervention, they will have a safe, pristine habitat to return to,” he added. High-risk missionTranslocation is a dangerous game. Moving a multi-ton, highly stressed mammal across rugged terrain requires precision.But conservationists argue that the alternative—doing nothing—guarantees extinction.Kurnia Oktavia Khairani from the Integrated Forest Sustainable Alliance (Alert) revealed that infrastructure preparations are nearing completion at the Kelian Rhino Sanctuary.Workers are finalizing a specialized quarantine enclosure, known as a boma, where Pari will spend three months adapting and undergoing comprehensive health screenings.A larger permanent enclosure, or paddock, is also being constructed concurrently to accommodate her.To minimize physical stress and ensure safety, the field team will utilize a custom-designed helicopter transport scenario once the tracking team secures Pari’s exact position in the Mahulu wilderness.”We are not cutting corners regarding safety and accountability,” Kurnia noted.”Every step, from the design of the traps to vendor selection, is bound by rigid international standards,” she added.The mission has garnered strong backing from local communities. Chairman of the East Kalimantan Dayak Traditional Council, Victor Juan, affirmed that indigenous groups fully support the translocation to maintain ecological balance.”The forest and its wildlife are intertwined with the lives of indigenous peoples. We stand fully behind this rescue mission to prevent extinction,” Juan said. Defense against extinctionFor the Forestry Ministry, the operation represents the culmination of years of targeted conservation planning, framing the survival of the Bornean rhino as a matter of national accountability.”If we fail to act decisively now, we may find this species relegated to history books within the next decade,” warned Budi Mulyanto, the ministry’s Head of the Sub-Directorate for Species and Genetic Preservation.The mission to save Pari and Pahu is a bruising reminder of a crisis point where human destruction has forced us to rely on helicopters, laboratories and cellular manipulation to address the consequences of decades of habitat loss and population decline.By bridging cutting-edge reproductive science, rigorous international logistics and localized indigenous wisdom, Indonesia is staging its final defense to secure a future for this rare national treasure.