New arrival is conservation boost for endangered Sumatran rhinos

A Sumatran rhinoceros calf has been born at an Indonesian sanctuary in a welcome success for efforts to save the critically endangered species. The female calf weighed about 45lb (20kg) and looked healthy and active, The International Rhino Foundation said. It is the second calf born to its mother Ratu, who had a male named Andatu in 2012 in the first rhino birth in captivity in Indonesia in 124 years. "We haven’t stopped smiling since the moment we were sure she was alive and healthy,“ said IRF’s executive director Susie Ellis.

While one birth does not save the species, it’s one more Sumatran rhino on Earth

IRF executive director Susie Ellis

Only an estimated 100 Sumatran rhinos remain, mostly on the island of Sumatra, and several are in captivity. They are threatened by destruction of tropical forest habitat and poachers who kill the animals for their horns. The species was rediscovered in the Indonesian part of Borneo through trails and footprints in 2013. But one member of the small population on Borneo died in April after a wound from a poacher’s trap became infected.

sumatran rhino