Way Kambas Welcomes New Baby Sumatran Rhino

TEMPO.CO, Jakarta - The Sumatran Rhino sanctuary in Lampung province, Way Kambas National Park, on Thursday, March 24 reported the arrival of a new addition to the family in the form of a female rhino calf. The Environmental and Forestry Ministry's Director-General of conservation, Wiratno, said the baby adds to the number of rhinos to a total of eight. 

The national park not only houses Andatu and Rosa—the calf’s parents—but also three female rhinos named Bina, Ratu, Delilah and two male rhinos named Andalas and Harapan (hope). 

Wiratno said that this not only was good news for the Sumatran rhino population but also “a historic moment amidst the G20 presidency in Indonesia.”

He acknowledged and thanked the hard work of doctors, nurses, and other health experts who monitored Rosa’s condition prior to giving birth. In an official statement Tempo received on Monday, March 28, these health experts came from the Forestry and Environment Ministry (KLHK), the national park’s elephant hospital, and Taman Safari Indonesia. 

Zulfi Arsan, the head of the doctors’ team, said that Rosa the rhino showed signs of giving birth at around 9 a.m. The birth process lasted for almost three hours, during which Scott Citino, a veterinarian from White Oak Conservation, and senior animal nurse Paul Reinhart from the Cincinnati Zoo, United States were on standby. Scott and Paul assisted the vet team at the national park.

During her pregnancy, Rosa received additional fetal-boosting hormones until she was close to giving birth. "We carried out routine pregnancy health checks using ultrasound (USG), feeding her with adequate and quality food, and monitored her behavior during pregnancy," said Arsan.

Meanwhile, Way Kambas National Park head Kuswandoro said this marked “the first Sumatran Rhino in Asia that was born in captivity, 124 years after the birth of a Sumatran calf at India’s Calcutta Zoo."

Read: New Rhino Sanctuary Opens at Way Kambas National Park 

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