Rare Birth of Sumatran Rhino a Blessing for Critically Endangered Species

A baby rhino has been born in a wildlife sanctuary in Indonesia, sparking hope for the future of the critically endangered species.

The little Sumatran rhino was born on Saturday at the Sumatran Rhino Reserve at Way Kambas National Park (SRS TNWK) in Sumatra, an island in western Indonesia, to parents Delilah and Harapan.

The baby male weighed around 55 pounds, and is the fifth calf to be born under the semi-wild breeding program at the park.

Sumatran rhinos are one of the most threatened species of rhino in the world, with an estimated total remaining population of less than 80, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

They are listed as “critically endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and are the smallest species of rhino, measuring only 3.3 to 5 feet high.

These rhinos have been targeted by poachers, as their horns are often illegally traded for traditional Chinese medicine. This hunting, combined with climate change and habitat loss due to logging and human development, has led their populations to drop by 70 percent over the last 30 years. Their cousin species, the Javan rhino, is also critically endangered, with a similarly tiny population remaining.

This calf marks the second baby Sumatran rhino born at the park this year, taking the total number of these rhinos at the sanctuary to 10. Before the first of these five births, there hadn’t been a Sumatran rhino born in an Indonesian sanctuary for more than 120 years.

“We are grateful for the fifth birth at SRS TNWK. This birth is also the birth of the second Sumatran rhino in 2023. This further confirms the commitment of the Government of the Republic of Indonesia in carrying out rhino conservation efforts in Indonesia, especially the Sumatran rhino,” Indonesian minister of environment and forestry (LHK) Siti Nurbaya Bakar said in a statement.

This was the first successful birth from the calf’s mother, Delilah, who is seven years old and was also born at the sanctuary.

“Based on the report we received, the rhino Delilah gave birth to a male calf outside the estimated time, namely around 04.00 WIB, Saturday (25/11), on the 460th day of pregnancy, 10 days earlier than the estimated birth. At 08.19 WIB, the rhino Delilah was found with her calf in the forest by SRS TNWK animal guards,” Satyawan Pudyatmoko, the director general of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation (KSDAE) KLHK, said in the statement.

The calf—who is yet to be named—is doing well, and can stand upright, walk and feed from his mother.

“The main goal is to produce Sumatran rhino calves to maintain the survival of the Sumatran rhino species which is now threatened with extinction,” said Satyawan. “In the future, Sumatran rhino calves resulting from the breeding program at SRS TNWK can be released back into their natural habitat.”

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