Malaysia's last male Sumatran rhinoceros has died, dashing efforts to save the critically endangered species in the country.

Key points:

• Iman, a female captured in 2014, is now the only rhino of her kind left in Malaysia
• Wildlife experts estimate that only about 30 to 80 Sumatran rhinos remain in the world
• Genetic material has been preserved for future attempts to reproduce Sumatran rhinos

The rhino, named Tam, was about 30 years old and lived at a wildlife reserve in Sabah state on Borneo island since his capture in 2008, Christina Liew, state minister for tourism, culture and environment, said in a statement.

The Sumatran rhino, the smallest species of rhinoceros, was declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in 2015.

Iman, a female captured in 2014, is now the only surviving member of the subspecies left in the country.

Another female rhino, Puntung, died in captivity in 2017.

Wildlife experts estimate that only about 30 to 80 Sumatran rhinos remain in the world, mostly on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and on the Indonesian side of Borneo.

Their isolation, caused by habitat loss and poaching, means they rarely breed and may go extinct in a matter of decades, according to conservation group International Rhino Foundation.

Since 2011, Malaysia has tried to breed the species in captivity through in vitro fertilisation, but without success.

Ms Liew said Tam's genetic material has been preserved for future attempts to reproduce Sumatran rhinos.

A United Nations report released earlier this month warned that 1 million of the world's species are under threat of extinction.

World Wildlife Fund (WWF) Malaysia paid tribute to the last male of its kind in the country on Facebook.

"Our hearts are filled with sadness as we mourn not only the loss of wildlife, but the loss of a species," WWF wrote.

"With Tam gone, we now only have Iman left, our last female rhino.

"If we are not careful, the Sumatran rhino will not be the only species that will go extinct under our watch."

In a Facebook post from 2015, WWF Malaysia said the Sumatran rhino used to inhabit forests across South and South East Asia, but its population "has drastically shrunk due to forest habitat loss and killing for its horn".

"The demand for rhino horn stems from the common yet misguided belief that it harbours medicinal properties," they wrote.