The Sumatran rhinoceros is now officially extinct in Malaysia after the country's last surviving rhino died on Saturday .
The 25-year-old female, named Iman, died of natural causes. She had suffered from uterine tumours since her capture in March 2014.
In a statement, Borneo island's Wildlife Department director Augustine Tuuga said Iman was in significant pain due to growing pressure of the tumours on her bladder.
Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhino died six months ago.
Malaysian national news agency Bernama said on Twitter that Iman died at 5:35pm on Saturday (local time) in the state of Sabah.
"Despite us knowing that this would happen sooner rather than later, we are so very saddened by this news," Sabah State Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Christina Liew is quoted as saying.
"Its death was a natural one, the immediate cause has been categorised as shock."
According to Time, Sabah authorities have harvested the rhino's cells. It is believed that a potential collaboration with Indonesia could reproduce the species through artificial insemination.
The Sumatran rhino has become critically endangered due to poaching and deforestation. It is estimated that less than 100 of the species remain.
Efforts to breed the rhinos in Malaysia have been largely futile.
