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A welcome addition to a critically endangered rhino species was born in Indonesia on Saturday, bringing the total number of Sumatran rhinos to 50.

A female named Delilah gave birth to a 25-kilogram male calf at a Sumatran rhino refuge in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung province, on Sumatra’s southern tip.

The calf was fathered by Harapan, a male born in the Cincinnati Zoo in 2006. He was the final Sumatran rhino in the world to be repatriated to Indonesia, which means that the whole Sumatran rhino population is currently in Indonesia.

The Sumatran rhino’s existence has been threatened by the exploitation of tropical forest habitats and poachers who kill the animals for their horns, which just like their African family is very valuable in China and other parts of Asia as traditional medicine.

“This birth is also the birth of the second Sumatran rhino in 2023. It emphasizes the government commitment of the Indonesian Government on the rhino conservation efforts in Indonesia, especially the Sumatran rhino,” Indonesian Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said in a written statement.

Delilah and her kid are doing well and the calf can already stand and walk all on its own.

In Indonesia, the Sumatran rhino is legally protected. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species classifies Sumatran rhinos as highly endangered, with only about 30 mature animals remaining – most kept in protected captivity.

Delilah’s firstborn has not been named yet, but the little kid is hella cute.

 

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