Rare Sumatran rhino born in Indonesia

Rare baby rhino with its motherImage source, Reuters

A rare and endangered Sumatran rhinoceros has been born in the south-east Asian country of Indonesia.

The yet-to-be named female calf was born at the weekend in a conservation area at Way Kambas National Park.

Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of the rhino species and are the only Asian rhino to have two horns.

They are one of the most threatened species in the world due to poaching and habitat loss.

What's happened?

Image source, Reuters

The baby rhino was born on Saturday. She is covered in black hair and weighs about 27 kilograms that's about the same as three watermelons.

Indonesia's environment minister Siti Nurbaya said the newborn stood for about 45 minutes soon after she was born and began walking around the jungle the very next day.

"This is a happy news, not only for Indonesia but for the world," she added.

Did you know?

Sumatran rhinos can grow up to 1.5 metres tall and weigh between 500kg to 960kg

The species is classed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

That means it's at extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.

A recent assessment of the threatened species showed there were only about 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the world.