In this photo taken Dec. 19, 2011 and released by Borneo Rhino Alliance, a Sumatran Rhino, named Puntung, is seen in her temporary enclosure in Tabin, Sabab state of Malaysia’s corner of Borneo island. Malaysian wildlife authorities said Saturday, Dec. 24, 2011 they have captured the female rhino that will be paired with a new mate in a breeding program meant to save their species from extinction. – AP Photo

KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia: Malaysian wildlife authorities say they have captured a female Borneo Sumatran rhino that will be paired with a new mate in a breeding program meant to save their species from extinction.

The plan is the cornerstone of efforts to preserve the bristly, snub-nosed animal whose numbers have fallen to fewer than 40 in the jungles of Borneo island.

Officials have spent more than three years seeking a suitable mate for a middle-aged male rhino named “Tam” that was rescued in Malaysia’s eastern Sabah state in 2008 while wandering in an oil palm plantation with an infected leg likely caused by a poacher trap.

The Sabah Wildlife Department said late Saturday that rangers over the weekend captured a young female rhino nicknamed “Puntung.”