The Sumatran Rhino is one of five rhinoceros species. It is the smallest, standing about 120–145 cm high at the shoulder, and weighs 500–800 kg. Like the African species, it has two horns. It once ranged throughout rainforests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia but are now extinct everywhere except Malaysia and Indonesia. They are critically endangered, with only six substantial populations in the wild: on Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia), and Malaysia. There are only about 300 left in the world.
The rhinos usually eat up to 50 kg of food a day and live 30–45 years in the wild. The Sumatran Rhinoceros is fast and agile; it climbs mountains easily. The pregnancy period is around 15–16 months before the young are born. Their horns are highly valued in traditional Chinese medicine, fetching as much as $30,000 (R300,000) per kilogram on the black market.
