Conservation
status
Critically
Endangered (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific
classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Mammalia
Order: Perissodactyla
Family: Rhinocerotidae
Genus: Dicerorhinus
Species: Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Binomial
name
Dicerorhinus
sumatrensis
Fact
The smallest
of all rhinos, the Sumatran rhino is rapidly running out of space and time. It
currently competes with the Javan rhino for the unenviable title of most
threatened rhino species.
There are
more Sumatran rhinos than Javan. But there are fewer than 100 and Sumatran
rhinos are more threatened by poaching. The species was declared extinct in the
wild in Malaysia in 2015.
Physical
description
Sumatran
rhinos are the smallest of the living rhinoceroses and the only Asian rhino
with two horns.
They are
covered with long hair and are more closely related to the extinct woolly
rhinos than any of the other rhino species alive today. Calves are born with a
dense covering that turns reddish brown in young adults and becomes sparse,
bristly and almost black in older animals.
The front
horn is usually 25-80 cm long, while the posterior horn is usually quite small
and often no more than 10 cm. Adult males grow to between 2-4m in length and
reach up to 1-1.5m in height. They can weigh as much as 950kg, considerably
less than their larger relatives elsewhere in Asia and Africa.
Life cycle
Sumatran
rhinos prefer lower altitudes, especially secondary forests where low-growing
plants are more abundant. Their habitat ranges from lowland swamps to montane
forests, but they generally favour forests with thick vegetation. In the wild,
Sumatran rhinos live at low densities and are mostly solitary. Females are
thought to be territorial and to avoid one another. Adults of both sexes
regularly mark their ranges with scrapes, saplings, faeces, and urine. Females
are thought to reach sexual maturity at 6-7 years, while males reach sexual
maturity at 10 years.
Sumatran
rhinos give birth to one calf at a time, every 3-4 years. Calves are born from
October to May, which corresponds with the region's rainy season. Calves gain
independence at 16-17 months and may join other juveniles before taking up a
solitary lifestyle. Their life span is thought to be similar to other rhinos at
around 35-40 years.
The Sumatran
rhino is a browser and feeds on fruit (especially wild mangoes and figs),
leaves, twigs, and bark. Sometimes the animal will venture into cultivated
areas to eat crops.
Population & distribution
The Sumatran
rhino once roamed from the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in Bhutan and
India, through Myanmar, Thailand, possibly to Vietnam and China, and south
through the Malay Peninsula. The species is found now in small populations on
the island of Sumatra in Indonesia. These scattered populations are mainly
confined to Gunung Leuser, Kerinci-Seblat and Bukit Barisan Selatan National
Parks. A few are also still living in Kalimantan. The species was officially
declared extinct in the wild in Malaysia in August 2015. Overall, Sumatran
rhino numbers are thought to have at least halved between 1985 and 1995, with
the total number of individuals now estimated at fewer than 100.
Major
threats
Habitat loss
due to forest conversion for agriculture and human settlements is threatening
to push the Sumatran rhino towards extinction. Most populations are very small
and isolated - and may not be viable unless connecting corridors are maintained
or created.
Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in Sumatra in Indonesia, which is now
estimated to have the largest single population of Sumatran rhinos, is still
losing forest cover due to conversion of forest for coffee and rice
production by illegal settlers.
Sumatran rhinos are known to use logged areas where there is an abundance of
regenerating plants. However, the construction of logging roads makes areas
more accessible to poachers.
And poaching is another major threat to the species. Rhino horn is still used
in traditional Asian medicine for the treatment of a variety of ailments, even
though the trade is illegal and despite efforts to reduce demand. In Vietnam,
rhino horn is also bought as a status symbol.
The third threat comes from the species declining genetic diversity. No single
Sumatran rhino population is estimated to have more than 75 individuals, making
them extremely vulnerable to extinction due to natural catastrophes, diseases
and inbreeding.