A Sumatran rhinoceros was just born in a reserve in western Indonesia as part of a program to save a species of which there are fewer than 80 individuals, authorities announced Monday.
• Also read: A rare birth gives this endangered species new hope
A female named Delilah gave birth to a male rhino this weekend in Way Kambas National Park in Sumatra. The animal, whose father’s name is Harapan, weighed 25 kilos at birth. The Sumatran rhino is the smallest of all rhinos and can reach a weight of 1.5 tons as an adult.
AFP
This is the fifth birth under this program, said Siti Nurbaya Bakar, Minister of Environment and Forestry. Another birth took place in September.
The World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) estimates that there are fewer than 80 Sumatran rhinos worldwide, living primarily on the Indonesian island of Sumatra and Borneo, an island shared by Indonesia, Malaysia and the Sultanate. from Brunei.
AFP
“This is the second birth of a Sumatran rhino in 2023. This further strengthens the government’s commitment to rhino conservation in Indonesia,” the minister said.
Multiple threats, including poaching and climate change, have pushed the Sumatran rhinoceros to the brink of extinction.
AFP
Indonesia is also trying to save another endangered species, the Javan rhinoceros, of which only 80 remain.