JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) – A Sumatran rhinoceros is pregnant with her second calf at an Indonesian sanctuary in the original habitat of the highly endangered species, a government conservation official said Wednesday.
Bambang Dahono Adji, director of biodiversity conservation at Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said the mother, Ratu, is expected to give birth next May at the Way Kambas National Park in southern Sumatra, to join five other rhinos there.
Sumatran rhino pregnancies last about 16 months and the babies weigh up to 27 kilograms (60 pounds). Ultrasound images indicate Ratu’s pregnancy is progressing normally.
“This proves capabilities of our own experts at Way Kambas,” Dahono said. “Malaysia’s announcement of the extinction of Sumatran rhino there made Indonesia’s efforts to save the rhino very important now.”
Now 12 years old, Ratu was born in the wild and wandered out of the rainforest in 2005. Her first calf, a male named Andatu born in 2012, was the first Sumatran rhino born in an Asian breeding facility in more than 140 years.