Sumatran rhinoceros

• A new animated short film from Mongabay, illustrated by artist Roger Peet, depicts one of the most urgent questions facing experts trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction. • With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth, many of them isolated into groups too small to be viable, the species’ natural birthrate is so low that experts have reached a consensus that human intervention is necessary to stave off extinction. • The question now is which rhinos to capture: Isolated ones are less likely to be healthy and fertile, but removing rhinos from populations that are still breeding in the wild could risk the survival of these last few viable groups. Conservationists trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction face a critical dilemma: In seeking to build a robust captive-breeding program, should the healthiest, most fertile rhinos be left in the wild or brought into captivity? It’s a question with no simple answers. The species, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, once roamed from the Himalayan foothills to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, but is today only known to survive in a few small pockets of forest in Indonesia. No more than 80 individuals are believed to be left on Earth. Decades of poaching and habitat loss brought the species to this point. But today, most experts believe that protecting the few remaining wild rhinos in situ is not enough to sustain the species. Because the remaining wild rhino populations are so small and so isolated from one another,...

About the Sumatran Rhinoceros The two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) shares the bleak distinction of world’s most endangered rhino with its regional cousin, the Javan rhino. The smallest of the rhino family, the Sumatran rhinoceros lives in isolated pockets in the dense mountain forests of Indonesia. Diet Sumatran rhinos are generally solitary creatures that feed on fruits, twigs, leaves, and shrubs. Like other rhinos they have a keen sense of smell and sharp hearing, and they use these traits to distinguish their territories from rival rhinos. Size and Hairy Hide As the smallest rhino, they weigh about 798 kilograms (1,760 pounds), and grow to a height near 1.5 meters (5 feet) at the shoulders and 2.45 to 3.05 meters (8 to 10 feet) in length. Unlike most other rhinos, their hide, dark red-brown in color, is covered with patches of short, dark, stiff hair. Rhino Horn and Trafficking The Sumatran rhino’s two horns are considerably smaller than those of their African relatives, the black and white rhinos. The anterior horn may grow up to 79 centimeters (31 inches), but is normally much smaller, while the posterior horn may grow up to 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), but is generally no more than a hump. The horns for which rhinos are so well known have been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for this hard growth, which is made of a hair-like substance and is revered for medicinal use in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also v...

Rosa and her calf. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The Government of Indonesiarecently announced the birthof a female Sumatran rhino at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, Way Kambas National Park (SRS), Lampung Province on Thursday, March 24, 2022! The calf was born to first-time parents Rosa and Andatu, bringing the SRS total to eight rhinos. Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary In 1996, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) built the 250-acre Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in partnership with local NGO Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI), who currently manages the SRS, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Way Kambas National Park and Taman Safari International. Located in the heart of Way Kambas National Park on the island of Sumatra, the SRS is home to the only reproductively viable captive Sumatran rhinos in the world. The facility’s eight resident rhinos reside in large, natural rainforest habitats and receive state-of-the-art veterinary care and nutrition. This tiny population is the core of an intensively managed breeding and research program that is intended to promote the species’ population growth while also generating a genetically diverse “founder” group that could be used as a source for animals to repopulate the National Parks. The goal of this program is to increase our knowledge about the ecology and behavior of the species while also supporting the population in the wild. With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild, ...

Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) The Sumatran rhino is the most threatened of all rhinoceros species Fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos survive in small populations in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser and Way Kambas National Parks (both located on the island of Sumatra) and a few isolated animals inhabit central Kalimantan. The Government of Indonesia and rhino experts from around the world have agreed that the only way to bring the Sumatran rhino back from the brink of extinction is to consolidate the widely dispersed, fragmented wild populations into managed breeding facilities under an emergency action plan. The Sumatran rhino is also called the Asian two-horned rhino as it is the only two horned rhino in the Asian region. It has long, shaggy hair on its ears and body, in contrast to other rhinos which appear hairless. • The Sumatran rhino lives in dense tropical forest, both lowland and highland, mainly on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. • This species is a browser and an opportunistic feeder with a very varied diet that may include more than 100 plant species. • Sumatran rhinos live between 35 and 40 years. Gestation lasts approximately 15-16 months, and cows are believed to give birth to one calf about every 3 years. • These tropical forest dwellers are generally solitary in nature. On Saturday, June 23, 2012, Ratu, one of the three adult female rhinos at Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, gave birth to a 60-lb male calf named Andatu. He was the first Sumatran rhin...

Rosa and her calf. Image courtesy of the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry. The Government of Indonesiarecently announced the birthof a female Sumatran rhino at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, Way Kambas National Park (SRS), Lampung Province on Thursday, March 24, 2022! The calf was born to first-time parents Rosa and Andatu, bringing the SRS total to eight rhinos. Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary In 1996, the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) built the 250-acre Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in partnership with local NGO Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI), who currently manages the SRS, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Way Kambas National Park and Taman Safari International. Located in the heart of Way Kambas National Park on the island of Sumatra, the SRS is home to the only reproductively viable captive Sumatran rhinos in the world. The facility’s eight resident rhinos reside in large, natural rainforest habitats and receive state-of-the-art veterinary care and nutrition. This tiny population is the core of an intensively managed breeding and research program that is intended to promote the species’ population growth while also generating a genetically diverse “founder” group that could be used as a source for animals to repopulate the National Parks. The goal of this program is to increase our knowledge about the ecology and behavior of the species while also supporting the population in the wild. With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild, ...

About the Sumatran Rhinoceros The two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) shares the bleak distinction of world’s most endangered rhino with its regional cousin, the Javan rhino. The smallest of the rhino family, the Sumatran rhinoceros lives in isolated pockets in the dense mountain forests of Indonesia. Diet Sumatran rhinos are generally solitary creatures that feed on fruits, twigs, leaves, and shrubs. Like other rhinos they have a keen sense of smell and sharp hearing, and they use these traits to distinguish their territories from rival rhinos. Size and Hairy Hide As the smallest rhino, they weigh about 798 kilograms (1,760 pounds), and grow to a height near 1.5 meters (5 feet) at the shoulders and 2.45 to 3.05 meters (8 to 10 feet) in length. Unlike most other rhinos, their hide, dark red-brown in color, is covered with patches of short, dark, stiff hair. Rhino Horn and Trafficking The Sumatran rhino’s two horns are considerably smaller than those of their African relatives, the black and white rhinos. The anterior horn may grow up to 79 centimeters (31 inches), but is normally much smaller, while the posterior horn may grow up to 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), but is generally no more than a hump. The horns for which rhinos are so well known have been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for this hard growth, which is made of a hair-like substance and is revered for medicinal use in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also v...

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• A new animated short film from Mongabay, illustrated by artist Roger Peet, depicts one of the most urgent questions facing experts trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction. • With no more than 80 Sumatran rhinos left on Earth, many of them isolated into groups too small to be viable, the species’ natural birthrate is so low that experts have reached a consensus that human intervention is necessary to stave off extinction. • The question now is which rhinos to capture: Isolated ones are less likely to be healthy and fertile, but removing rhinos from populations that are still breeding in the wild could risk the survival of these last few viable groups. Conservationists trying to save the Sumatran rhino from extinction face a critical dilemma: In seeking to build a robust captive-breeding program, should the healthiest, most fertile rhinos be left in the wild or brought into captivity? It’s a question with no simple answers. The species, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, once roamed from the Himalayan foothills to the islands of Borneo and Sumatra, but is today only known to survive in a few small pockets of forest in Indonesia. No more than 80 individuals are believed to be left on Earth. Decades of poaching and habitat loss brought the species to this point. But today, most experts believe that protecting the few remaining wild rhinos in situ is not enough to sustain the species. Because the remaining wild rhino populations are so small and so isolated from one another,...

Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) The Sumatran rhino is the most threatened of all rhinoceros species Fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos survive in small populations in Indonesia’s Gunung Leuser and Way Kambas National Parks (both located on the island of Sumatra) and a few isolated animals inhabit central Kalimantan. The Government of Indonesia and rhino experts from around the world have agreed that the only way to bring the Sumatran rhino back from the brink of extinction is to consolidate the widely dispersed, fragmented wild populations into managed breeding facilities under an emergency action plan. The Sumatran rhino is also called the Asian two-horned rhino as it is the only two horned rhino in the Asian region. It has long, shaggy hair on its ears and body, in contrast to other rhinos which appear hairless. • The Sumatran rhino lives in dense tropical forest, both lowland and highland, mainly on the Indonesian island of Sumatra. • This species is a browser and an opportunistic feeder with a very varied diet that may include more than 100 plant species. • Sumatran rhinos live between 35 and 40 years. Gestation lasts approximately 15-16 months, and cows are believed to give birth to one calf about every 3 years. • These tropical forest dwellers are generally solitary in nature. On Saturday, June 23, 2012, Ratu, one of the three adult female rhinos at Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, gave birth to a 60-lb male calf named Andatu. He was the first Sumatran rhin...

About the Sumatran Rhinoceros The two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) shares the bleak distinction of world’s most endangered rhino with its regional cousin, the Javan rhino. The smallest of the rhino family, the Sumatran rhinoceros lives in isolated pockets in the dense mountain forests of Indonesia. Diet Sumatran rhinos are generally solitary creatures that feed on fruits, twigs, leaves, and shrubs. Like other rhinos they have a keen sense of smell and sharp hearing, and they use these traits to distinguish their territories from rival rhinos. Size and Hairy Hide As the smallest rhino, they weigh about 798 kilograms (1,760 pounds), and grow to a height near 1.5 meters (5 feet) at the shoulders and 2.45 to 3.05 meters (8 to 10 feet) in length. Unlike most other rhinos, their hide, dark red-brown in color, is covered with patches of short, dark, stiff hair. Rhino Horn and Trafficking The Sumatran rhino’s two horns are considerably smaller than those of their African relatives, the black and white rhinos. The anterior horn may grow up to 79 centimeters (31 inches), but is normally much smaller, while the posterior horn may grow up to 7.5 centimeters (3 inches), but is generally no more than a hump. The horns for which rhinos are so well known have been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for this hard growth, which is made of a hair-like substance and is revered for medicinal use in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also v...