The Sumatran Rhino

"Malaysia's Most Endangered Mammal"

Notable for its rarity, the Sumatran rhino treads on treacherous ground in Malaysia and Indonesia.

Once ranging from the Himalayas to Indochina, the current wild populations remain only in Southeast Asia, with remnant groups in Sumatra, Borneo and Peninsular Malaysia.

This endangered rhino species continued to decline in numbers into the 1990s with losses reaching 50% of the population each decade. Since then, better wildlife protection measures has stopped the steady downfall of the species.

Hunting over last the two centuries for sport killing and poaching of rhino horn severely reduced widespread populations to its current numbers in restricted areas.

Asia has two other living rhino species that were also hunted and now face threats to their survival:

• Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) - An extremely rare species living only two places on earth (Vietnam and Indonesia) with less than 60 individuals.
• Greater Asian One-Horned (Indian) Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) - Found only in India and Nepal with 2,400 individuals remaining.

Check out these rhinoceros facts for a quick overview of the threatened rhino species of Asia.

Wallowing in muddy waters for heat relief
Photo: Cincinnati Zoo

Sumatran Rhino: Conservation and Survival

A tough species, the Sumatran rhinoceros inhabits lowland rainforests, swamps and cloud forests and is the smallest of all global rhino species.

Less than 300 animals remain in the wild, with another 20 individuals living in zoos as the result of captive breeding programs.

These solitary mammals are now protected mostly in national parks and wildlife reserves that can sustain breeding populations:

• Taman Negara National Park
  (Peninsular Malaysia)
• Tabin Wildlife Reserve
  (Sabah, Malaysia)
• Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park
  (Sumatra, Indonesia)
• Kerinci Seblat National Park
  (Sumatra, Indonesia)
• Way Kambas National Park
  (Sumatra, Indonesia)
• Gunung Leuser National Park
  (Sumatra, Indonesia)

Poaching poses one of the main threats to species numbers and allowing these rare rhinos to increase wild populations. Despite its preference to run away from disturbances, hunters still manage to follow footprints and shoot or trap these ancient forest dwellers.

Protected by law, conservation measures include deploying anti-poaching teams to patrol parks and surrounding areas and remove snares to stop illegal hunting.

Unlike the difficulties with the Javan rhino, captive breeding programs show some success for the Sumatran rhino in zoos in Asia and America.

Conservation action programs try to link and secure vital habitats that encompass larger forest areas that also harbor other endangered mammals like elephants and orangutans.

All of these strategies attempt to provide enough time to save rhino species from local and global extinction and maintain the incredible biodiversity of the planet.

Photo: Mark Davis