Rare Rhino Is Pregnant

Ratu due to give birth to fourth Sumatran rhino born in captivity
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Feb 20, 2010 2:56 PM CST
Rare Rhino Is Pregnant
Male Sumatran rhino Andalas, right, wallows in a mud pool with his mate Ratu at Way Kambas Rhino Reservation in Lampung, Indonesia.   (AP Photo/Indonesian Rhino Foundation/ International Rhino Foundation)

Animal activists fighting to save the threatened Sumatran rhino have reason to celebrate: a female named Ratu is pregnant and due to give birth in Indonesia next year to only the fourth such rhino born in captivity. Sumatran rhinos are the rarest of five existing rhino species, reports CNN, and their numbers are plunging. Only 200 or so remain in the wild, down 50% in the last 15 years, along with 10 in captivity.

"This is a big step forward for the species," said the executive director of the International Rhino Foundation. "Once they're lost, they are gone forever." (More rhinoceros stories.)

Get the news faster.
Tap to install our app.
X
Install the Newser News app
in two easy steps:
1. Tap in your navigation bar.
2. Tap to Add to Home Screen.

X