Newborn Sumatran rhino brings hope to species nearly hunted to extinction
A critically endangered Sumatran rhinoceros calf was recently born in Indonesia's Way Kambas National Park. The female calf, weighing approximately 27 kilograms, brings hope to a species that is on the verge of extinction due to illegal poaching and habitat loss. Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of the rhino species and are characterized by their long hair. They are typically found in dense tropical forests on the island of Sumatra. Female Sumatran rhinos give birth to a single calf every three to four years.
In
Indonesia 's Way Kambas National Park, a critically endangered
Sumatran rhinoceros calf was recently born. Indonesia's
Ministry of Environment and Forestry on X informed that the unnamed female calf was born on a Saturday, reports CNN.
Environment and Forestry Minister
Siti Nurbaya Bakar expressed her delight, describing the news as "happy not just for Indonesia but the rest of the world."
Sumatran rhinos , once widespread across
Southeast Asia , now number fewer than 80 individuals living in fragmented regions across Indonesia, according to the
International Rhino Foundation (
IRF ).
The birth of this calf brings hope to a species teetering on the brink of extinction, threatened by illegal poaching and habitat loss.
Photographs shared by the forestry ministry depicted the newborn calf, weighing approximately 27 kilograms (60 pounds), adorned with black hair and appearing alert beside her mother.
Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of the rhino species, measuring about 4 to 5 feet in height (approximately 1.5 meters) and possessing an average body length of around 8.2 feet (2.5 meters). They are characterized by their long hair and bear a closer genetic relation to extinct woolly rhinos than to other extant rhino species.
Typically found in dense tropical forests, both lowland and highland, on the island of Sumatra, Sumatran rhinos are generally solitary animals. Female Sumatran rhinos give birth to a single calf every three to four years, with gestation periods lasting between 15 to 16 months, as per IRF.