“Sumatran rhino reborn in Way Kambas National Park – a record of two newborn rhinos in a year”
On Saturday (November 25, 2023), a male Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) was born within the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park (SRS TNWK).
The newborn rhino was discovered at 8:19 a.m. and is estimated to have been born at 4:00 a.m. by the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary team managed by the Indonesian Rhino Foundation.
This baby rhino marks the primary birth and stays nameless after the mating of a 7-year-old female rhinoceros named Delilah and a rhinoceros named Harapan.
“From the report we received, Delilah unexpectedly gave birth to a male calf around 4:00 a.m. on Saturday (25/11/2023), on day 460 of pregnancy, 10 days before her expected delivery,” said Satyawan Pudyatmoko, director General for Natural Resources and Ecosystem Protection on the Ministry of Environment and Forestry.
“At 8:19, animal keepers from SRS TNWK found Delilah together with her calf within the forest,” he added.
Satyawan further mentioned that each the mother and the newborn rhino were in good health. The baby rhino can now stand and walk by itself.
Shortly after its discovery, the calf was seen nursing its mother while standing.
Currently, the mother and calf are within the care room (boma) at SRS TNWK, and the calf weighs roughly 25 kilograms.
SRS TNWK, managed by the Way Kambas National Park Office in cooperation with the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, is situated in a special zone of Way Kambas National Park.
His goal is to provide Sumatran rhino offspring to make sure the survival of the Sumatran rhino species, which is now critically endangered.
“The Sumatran rhinoceros offspring resulting from the breeding program at SRS TNWK will eventually be reintroduced to their natural habitat,” said Satyawan Pudyatmoko. Minister of Environment and Forestry Siti Nurbaya stated that with the birth of the infant rhino, SRS TNWK set a world record with the birth of 5 Sumatran rhinos through semi-natural breeding efforts.
These five rhinos are Andatu born in 2012, Delilah born in 2016, Sedah Mirah born in 2022 because the third offspring of female Ratu and male Andalas on September 30, 2023.
And the recent offspring of Delilah and Harapan, born last Saturday, November 25, 2023.
“We are grateful for the fifth delivery at SRS TNWK. This birth is also the second birth of a Sumatran rhino in 2023. This further underlines the commitment of the Republic of Indonesia to protect rhinos in Indonesia, especially Sumatran rhinos,” said Minister Siti Nurbaya.
Delilah was born from the second mating of a female Ratu and a male Andalas at SRS TNWK in 2016. Harapan was the last Sumatran rhinoceros repatriated to Indonesia in 2015, born from the mating of a female Emi and a male Ipuh on the Cincinnati Zoo within the United States in 2007 .
Jansen Manansang, executive director of YABI, added that the birth of Delilah’s first offspring is the results of natural mating at SRS TNWK.
The Indonesian Rhino Foundation stays committed to supporting rhino conservation programs in Indonesia.
The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is protected in Indonesia under the Regulation of the Minister of Environment and Forestry No. 106 of 2018.
According to the IUCN Red List, the conservation status of the Sumatran rhino is currently critically endangered (CR).
The fifth birth at SRS TNWK encourages continued efforts to guard the Sumatran rhinoceros.
