The Sumatran rhinoceros, of which only 30 remain, recently welcomed a newborn!

On March 24, a baby Sumatran rhino was born in Indonesia! This is the rarest rhino in the world.

This baby rhino is furry, has round eyes, a chubby body, and a large tuft of bristle on its ears and head. The baby rhino was born not long ago, and everyone has not had time to give it a name, so they call it "Baby Sumatran rhinoceros".

Newly born baby Su | Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Baby Su is here

Bao Bao is a female rhino born at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Lampung Province, Indonesia. Her birth was announced with national publicity by the Indonesian government in recent days and is the eighth rhino to be born at the sanctuary.

The conservation center is located in Way Kambas National Park. Baobao Su is the 8th Sumatran rhino here.｜Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Why the birth of this little Sumatran rhino is so important starts with the critically endangered population of this species.

The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is also known as the Asian two-horned rhino, woolly rhino, or simply the Sumatran rhino. According to the March 2019 update of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List, there are only about 30 adult Sumatran rhinos left in the world. They are one of the most endangered rare animals in the world, listed as "critically endangered" by the Red List. A slight change in climate or ecology could easily wipe them out from the earth.

The birth of Su Baobao has brought hope to this critically endangered species. Moreover, its birth itself is a legend.

A mother who has experienced 8 miscarriages

Su Bao's mother is Rosa. Before she successfully gave birth to Su Bao, she had experienced eight pregnancies at the conservation center. Unfortunately, all eight of these possible childbirths ended in miscarriage. This made the staff of the conservation center very frustrated, and they even wondered if there was something wrong with their breeding methods.

Rosa and her baby｜Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Fortunately, the birth of Su Baobao was like a powerful stimulant, giving everyone a great boost of energy! Su Bao is not only Rosa's first baby, but also the first newborn rhino born under the conservation center's "Sumatran Rhino Breeding Program"!

Rosa is not a Sumatran rhino born and raised in the conservation center. In 2003, a mysterious Sumatran rhino was discovered in Bukit Barisan Selatan National Park in West Sumatra. It is very different from other Sumatran rhinos. This guy is different from other Sumatran rhinos. He is shy, timid, nocturnal, and avoids humans and livestock. He often follows humans to beg for food! This behavior looks cute, but it is extremely dangerous for rhinos. After all, they don't know which human standing opposite them and feeding them fruit will suddenly pull out a shotgun for their valuable rhino horns.

Rhino conservation experts had to join forces with the government to protect and care for it, and upload Rosa's location from time to time. In 2004, Rosa became closer to humans and even stayed in human villages. Everyone had to let her live in the conservation center and built a "luxury suite" for her that was almost comparable to the original ecological environment. According to conservationists, Rosa is not only affectionate, but also sings with her unique voice before the fruit feast is about to arrive, and then rolls in her favorite mud pit to cheer her up.

Rosa, who lives in the conservation center, experienced 8 miscarriages and finally gave birth to her first baby rhino｜Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Born through artificial breeding

Su Baobao's father is also a big shot. His name is Andatu, and he is the first Sumatran rhino born through artificial breeding in Indonesia. Andatu was born in 2012, when countries were at the peak of their efforts to help with conservation. His importance is self-evident. This time, Su Baobao was born when Andatu had just reached sexual maturity. The right time, right place, and right people were all right. He was extremely lucky.

Anhui University Library｜Bill Konstant / International Rhino Foundation

Andalas, Andatu's father and Subao's grandfather, was born in the U.S. He also has an extraordinary origin. He was born in 2001, when almost everyone believed that it was impossible for Sumatran rhinos to produce offspring through artificial breeding, but Andalas dispelled people's doubts.

Now it seems that the birth of Su Baobao's grandfather was the origin of this series of happy events. From the paternal perspective, Su Baobao is the third generation of artificial breeding, which means that this species has the possibility of continuing its genes in an artificial environment, which brings great hope for the survival of this species.

A unique beast

There are only five species of rhinoceros in the world, namely white rhinoceros, black rhinoceros, Indian rhinoceros, Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros. The first two species live in the African grasslands and are two-horned rhinoceroses; the latter three species live in Southeast Asia and the Indian subcontinent, among which the Indian rhinoceros and Javan rhinoceros are single-horned rhinoceroses, while the Sumatran rhinoceros is the only two-horned rhinoceros distributed in Asia.

The Sumatran rhino may also be the most unique of these rhinos. It has the smallest physique, with a shoulder height of about 1.12 to 1.45 meters - no doubt, you can look down on it; a body length of 2.36 to 3.18 meters, a tail of about half a meter, and a weight of 500 to 1,000 kilograms. Compared with the white rhino, which is 1.8 meters tall at the shoulder and weighs 2.5 tons, it can almost be called small and exquisite.

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest | 26Isabella / Wikimedia Commons

The evolution of the Sumatran rhino is also confusing. In the past, many scholars believed that they were close relatives of the Indian rhino and the Javan rhino because the geographical distribution of the three overlapped a lot; other scholars believed that they might be closer to the white rhino and the black rhino because all three were "double-horned" rhinos. However, some recent genetic analysis results have brought about a third possibility: the Indian rhino and the Javan rhino are one bloodline, the black rhino and the white rhino are another bloodline, and the Sumatran rhino is a third bloodline that evolved independently; these three factions parted ways about 25 million years ago, and the geographical overlap or similarity of the rhino horns with the first two branches is probably just a coincidence.

What is even more sad is that some studies have analyzed the dense hair of the Sumatran rhinoceros and believed that they may be a branch of the once powerful woolly rhinoceros.

The woolly rhinoceros, which lived in the Pleistocene, had a thick layer of fur and fat; hunting by early humans may have caused its extinction | Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Once upon a time, China also had Sumatran rhinos

The Sumatran rhino is not only extraordinary in evolutionary history, but also has an irreplaceable ecological position in Southeast Asia. The Sumatran rhino likes to eat young leaves, buds, flowers, and fruits of vegetation, and is a natural seed sower. Many plant seeds have a very good germination rate after being processed by their digestive tract and excreted from their bodies, such as wild mango, mangosteen, durian, etc. Only animals as large as the Sumatran rhino can pass these plant seeds through their digestive tracts and excretions without obstacles.

In 1793, the first portrait of the Sumatran rhino was drawn by the Western scientific community｜William Bell

The Sumatran rhino is also the "best singing" rhino, with a very special call that can be heard 9-10 kilometers away. The habitats of the Sumatran rhino and the Asian elephant overlap a lot. As the largest mammals in Southeast Asia, they have always lived in peace with each other. Some people speculate that the Sumatran rhino used its "singing" to greet each other in advance, and the friendship between gentlemen is as warm as jade.

The Sumatran rhino was once distributed in China, and may have reached Sichuan. If you go to the National Museum of China, you will see a very exquisite national treasure bronze artifact in the museum - a Western Han Dynasty bronze rhino vase with gold and silver cloud patterns. It is a Sumatran rhino!

Western Han Dynasty bronze rhinoceros vase with gold and silver inlay and cloud pattern｜National Museum of China

However, with the destruction and pollution of habitats by humans, the greed for rhino horns and the subsequent hunting, the once glorious beasts on the Asian continent eventually could not escape the situation of extinction. Now, the Sumatran rhinoceros is confined to a few small spaces in Southeast Asia, with only a few dozen left.

I hope these beautiful beasts can still roam freely in the forest. Thank you again, Su Baobao. Your birth has brought us incomparable hope! I wish you grow stronger!

Wish Su baby grow up healthily! ｜Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry

Author: Luo Xiaofeng

Editor: Mai Mai

This article comes from the Species Calendar, welcome to forward

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