In a birth being celebrated around the world, a baby girl has been delivered healthy, weighing in at 60 pounds. Don't worry, it's not a human baby but a critically endangered Sumatran rhino, whose birth "represents hope for a species threatened with extinction," per CNN. The unnamed female was born Saturday at Way Kambas National Park on Indonesia's Sumatra island, one of two areas in which these small rhinos still live in the wild. They once existed across the tropical forests of Southeast Asia. They now number fewer than 80 in fragmented pockets of Sumatra and Borneo due to habitat loss and poaching, according to the government, though a 2022 report estimated the population at 34 to 47, per Save the Rhino. Captive breeding programs are thought to be the only hope of saving the species.
Environment and Forestry Minister Siti Nurbaya Bakar said the birth was "happy news not just for Indonesia but the rest of the world," per CNN. Footage was shared of the calf being born, taking her first steps, feeding from her mother, and generally looking adorable. She took her first steps within 45 minutes of her birth and began feeding within four hours, the ministry said. Her parents might be considered the celebrity couple of Sumatran rhinos. Mother Ratu, 22, and father Andalas, 23, a former resident of the Cincinnati Zoo, previously welcomed two offspring, Delilah in 2016 and Andatu in 2021, making this calf their third, per NewsOnAIR. Females give birth just once every three to four years, following a gestation period of 15 to 16 months, per CNN. (More Sumatran rhino stories.)
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