LAMPUNG - The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is an animal whose status is now critically endangered, it is estimated that there are only 70 in the world and it is not known which are still living in the wild.

10 of them now live in a semi-in-situ conservation sanctuary in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS) of Way Kambas National Park (TNWK), East Lampung.

In the sanctuary which is part of the forest area, efforts to preserve the two-horned rhinoceros continue to this day.

The Coordinator of the Medical Team and Keeper of SRS, drh Dedy Surya Pahlawan said that efforts to preserve the Sumatran rhinoceros are extremely difficult. There are several factors, apart from poaching, that require conservation efforts to be carried out carefully and measured.

"The first factor is that the Sumatran rhinoceros lives solitarily or alone, even after the weaning of its calf, it will return to living solitarily," he said when interviewed on Sunday (16/2/2025) morning.

Thus, encounters between female and male rhinos are very rare in the wild. Even now, the possibility of wild rhino sightings in TNWK is very small.

The TNWK research team itself has only found one puddle in the middle of the forest after months of searching.

"From the puddle, after being examined, it turned out to contain Sumatran rhino DNA. So in the wild, there are still some, but they have never been seen," said Dedy.

Another factor that makes efforts to preserve the Sumatran rhino very difficult is the female rhino's estrus period which is only 1 x 24 hours. In SRS, this is a very valuable time span.

"When it's over, the female rhino will chase away the male rhino or even fight," he said.

In SRS itself, five rhino births have occurred since 2012. Public Relations of the TNWK Sukatmoko Center said the five births were Andatu (born in 2012), Delilah (2016), and Sedah Mirah (2022).

Then, Anggi, the third child of Ratu-Andalas (September 30, 2023) and Indra, the child of Delilah-Harapan (November 25, 2023).

"The Sumatran rhino calves from the breeding program at SRS TNWK can be released back into their natural habitat in the future," he said.