# Sumatran Rhinoceros (*Dicerorhinus sumatrensis*)

> The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the smallest and hairiest living rhino, a two-horned rainforest species now reduced to fewer than about 80 animals, nearly all on the island of Sumatra. Weighing 500–960 kg (1,100–2,100 lb), it is the closest living relative of the extinct woolly rhinoceros and is Critically Endangered.

- **Category:** Mammal
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Critically Endangered
- **Range:** Remnant rainforest of Sumatra; formerly across Southeast Asia from India to Borneo.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/sumatran-rhinoceros/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Perissodactyla
- **Family:** Rhinocerotidae
- **Genus:** Dicerorhinus

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Dicerorhinus sumatrensis |
| Diet | Leaves, twigs, shoots, fruit, and sapling bark |
| Habitat | Dense lowland and montane rainforest of Sumatra |
| Lifespan | Around 35–40 years |
| Weight | 500–960 kg (1,100–2,100 lb) |
| Top speed | Agile for a rhino — moves fast through steep forest terrain |
| Conservation status | Critically Endangered (IUCN) |

## The hairy rhino

The Sumatran rhino is a forest rhino in miniature: shoulder height of about a metre to a metre and a half, reddish-brown skin with a fringe of hair on the ears and tail, and two horns, the front one far longer than the rear. Calves are born conspicuously woolly, and adults in damp mountain forest keep a noticeable coat.

## A relic of the Ice Age

Genetic studies show the Sumatran rhino is the closest living relative of the extinct woolly rhinoceros of Ice Age Eurasia, and its lineage has changed little in millions of years. Within the last two centuries it ranged from India and Bhutan through mainland Southeast Asia to Borneo; now it hangs on in a handful of Sumatran forests.

## Solitary forest life

Sumatran rhinos live alone in dense forest, feeding before dawn and at dusk and spending midday submerged in mud wallows that cool the skin and deter parasites. They mark trails with dung and bent saplings, climb steep slopes with ease, and are among the most vocal rhinos, producing eerie whistles and song-like calls.

## Diet

A browser of the understorey, it eats the leaves and shoots of saplings, figs and other fallen fruit, and bark, felling young trees by walking over them. A daily intake of around 50 kg of vegetation sustains a body that, while small for a rhino, still weighs up to nearly a tonne.

## Reproduction

Breeding is slow even by rhino standards: a single calf after roughly fifteen to sixteen months of gestation, then several years before the next. Breeding remained elusive in zoos for a century until 2001, when a calf was born at Cincinnati Zoo — knowledge that now underpins the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary programme in Way Kambas, which has produced several calves.

## Conservation

With fewer than about 80 individuals scattered in tiny, isolated groups, the Sumatran rhino is Critically Endangered. The greatest danger is no longer only poaching but sheer rarity — groups are so small and dispersed that breeding has nearly stopped in the wild. Indonesia's emergency strategy captures wild rhinos into fenced sanctuaries to form an insurance breeding population alongside habitat protection.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many Sumatran rhinos are left?

Fewer than about 80, almost all on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, split between a handful of forest reserves. A tiny remnant may persist in Borneo.

### Why is the Sumatran rhino hairy?

Its reddish hair, thickest on the ears and tail, is a legacy of its ancestry — it is the closest living relative of the Ice Age woolly rhinoceros — suited to cool, damp mountain forest.

### Where does the Sumatran rhino live?

Today almost entirely in Sumatra's remaining rainforests, including Gunung Leuser, Way Kambas, and Bukit Barisan Selatan national parks. It once ranged across Southeast Asia to India and Borneo.

### Can Sumatran rhinos be bred in captivity?

Yes, with great difficulty. The first success came at Cincinnati Zoo in 2001 after years of hormone research, and the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas has since produced several calves.

### How is it different from other rhinos?

It is by far the smallest living rhino, the only Asian rhino with two horns, the only hairy one, and a forest browser rather than a grassland grazer.

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/sumatran-rhinoceros/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.