An adorable new member of a critically endangered species entered the world after a Sumatran rhino gave birth to a 55-pound male calf in Indonesia on Nov. 25, the country’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry said in a statement.
Anak Delilah terpantau sehat sampai saat ini Sob!
Kelahiran pertama Delilah ini berlangsung normal di hutan tanpa bantuan dokter. Anak badak sudah dapat berdiri tegak dan berjalan.
Bahkan saat ditemukan pertama kali, anak badak sudah bisa menyusu dalam posisi berdiri. pic.twitter.com/eEtiuPhemG
— Kementerian LHK (@KementerianLHK) November 27, 2023
The male calf, whose name has yet to be announced, was born to his mother Delilah in the Sumatran Rhino Reserve on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, per the ministry statement. The birth is the second Sumatran rhino birth on the reserve this year, according to the ministry.
The ministry announced the birth as “good news from the world of Indonesian conservation,” noting the birth was a result of “semi-natural breeding efforts.” It marks the fifth birth of its kind at the reserve, according to the ministry. (RELATED: Poachers Are Using Social Media Posts To Target Endangered Animals)
The conservation efforts are an attempt to bring the species back from the brink of extinction. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) lists the Sumatran rhino as “critically endangered,” the release noted. They estimate there are only 30 mature individual rhinos left, likely all in Indonesia.
The calf’s father Harapan, is technically American. He was born in the United States at the Cincinnati Zoo in 2007 but repatriated to Indonesia, marking the last known Sumatran rhino to live outside Indonesia, per the ministry statement.
On Saturday, November 25, 2023, a healthy male calf, sired by Harapan, was born! (📷 courtesy of the Indonesia Ministry of Environment and Forestry) pic.twitter.com/s73DK73FWR
— Cincinnati Zoo (@CincinnatiZoo) November 27, 2023
The last known Sumatran rhino in Malaysia died in 2019, according to CBS, though the IUCN does estimate it’s possible there are still a few of the species left in northern Myanmar. The species is also extinct in Bangladesh, Bhutan, Brunei, Cambodia, India, Laos, Thailand and Vietnam, the IUCN noted.
The species, which once roamed throughout south Asia, has seen its population dwindle due to habitat destruction and poaching, CBS noted.