Critically endangered Sumatran rhino born in Indonesia

The new addition to the Sumatran rhino herd at Way Kambas, which numbers 10, comes after another baby Sumatran rhino was born there in September.

“This birth is the second birth of the Sumatran Rhino in 2023. This further strengthens the government’s commitment to Rhino conservation in Indonesia,” she said.

A conservation guard found Delilah lying next to her newborn calf on Saturday, the ministry statement said.

Successful births are rare. A male rhino named Andatu, born in 2012 at Way Kambas, was the first Sumatran rhino birthed in an Indonesian sanctuary in more than 120 years.

IUCN classifies the Sumatran rhino, the smallest of all rhino species, as critically endangered.

Multiple threats have brought them to the brink of extinction, including poaching and climate change.

Rhino horn is often illegally traded for traditional Chinese medicine.

Indonesia is also racing to save another critically endangered species, the Javan rhino, with fewer than 80 alive today.