Fantastic news from Indonesia’s Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary: Ratu is pregnant with Andalas’ calf!

The breeding of Cincinnati Zoo’s captive-born Sumatran rhino, Andalas, with Ratu, a female at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) has resulted in welcome news for critically endangered Sumatran rhinos: Ratu is pregnant!

Andalas’ and Ratu’s calf is expected to arrive in May 2011.

Hope for the future of Sumatran rhinos

The new calf signals hope for the future of the Sumatran rhino – a critically endangered species who numbers less than 200 worldwide.

IRF Executive Director, Dr. Susie Ellis said via today’s release that the news of Ratu’s pregnancy is the result of years of work by dedicated conservation partners.

A combination of sound science, international collaboration among government, non-profits, and zoos, as well as timing and personal chemistry, has led to this groundbreaking event.

While captive breeding is not a substitute for protecting the species in the wild, it is a critical part of an integrated strategy for the Sumatran rhino’s recovery.

The International Rhino Foundation, through its local partner, the Indonesian Rhino Foundation, also operates anti-poaching units in three Indonesian national parks. Thanks to those programs, there has been no rhino poaching in the last five years, and poaching of other large vertebrates which share rhino habitat has decreased significantly.

Dr. Widodo Ramono, executive director of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia noted that the Cincinnati Zoo’s methodology was being implemented at the SRS.

The Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary has been encouraged by Cincinnati Zoo’s success.

Our staff has adapted the Cincinnati Zoo’s methodology to the local environment at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary, particularly ultrasonographic techniques, to achieve this result.

How to help Sumatran rhinos

The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) population has declined 50% over the last 15 years, victims of rampant illegal killing for their small horn. Unfortunate superstitions in China and part of Eastern Asia attribute rhino horn with “medicinal” properties, even though such notions have been dispelled by science.

Sumatran rhino habitat is also threatened by development, palm oil production, and human encroachment.

Learn more about how to help Sumatran rhinos:

• International Rhino Foundation
• Asian Rhino Project
• Save the Rhino International

Source: International Rhino Foundation

• Pin It
• Share
• Tweet

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

More Posts - Website - Twitter - Facebook

You might also enjoy: