Sumatran Rhinos are very rare creatures and there are only thought to be about 100 left in the wilderness today.
There are a few of them in captivity as well, but trying to get these captive animals to mate and reproduce is a little harder even than pulling teeth.
Fortunately, however, a 14-year-old Sumatran Rhino mother named Ratu from the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) in Indonesia’s Way Kambas National Park has reportedly given birth to a healthy female calf. The baby was born on May 12th at 4:42 A.M. local time.
The International Rhino Foundation says in a statement on Facebook that the calf is active and healthy and weighed around 45 pounds at the time of the birth.
The species isn’t making a huge comeback just because of this single birth, but it sure would be nice if more of them were bred to produce more Sumatran Rhinos to keep the torch going.
More or less, this event is simply symbolic of the fact that the species continues to persevere even though their numbers are dwindling and that there’s little hope the species will ever make a true comeback.
Sadly, the Sumatran Rhino could one day be nonexistent, as the species was attacked by poachers in the region for years.
The Sumatran Rhinos that are known to exist currently are being protected by anti-poaching efforts, which include being relocated to protected forests and being guarded by armed guards.
The battle to keep the species alive is far from over, and it continues to be an un-hill battle, not only for preservationists, but also for the Sumatran Rhino species as well.
Source: Discovery, International Rhino Foundation