A rare Sumatran rhino in Indonesia is pregnant with her second baby and expected to give birth in May, raising new hope for the critically endangered species, conservationists said Tuesday.
Only about 100 Sumatran rhinos are believed to exist in the entire world so the pregnancy is seen as tremendously good news for those trying to save the animals from extinction.
The mother is Ratu, a wild rhino who wandered out of the rainforest and into the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Indonesia's Way Kambas National Park 10 years ago.
She got pregnant in January after mating with Andalas, a male rhino at the park, said Susie Ellis, director of the International Rhino Foundation.
Sumatran rhinos have very long pregnancies that last about 16 months, even though they are the smallest of the living rhino species.
"We just wanted to be sure it would take before we made an announcement because in early pregnancy any number of things can go wrong," Ellis said.
Ratu's pregnancy was announced on World Rhino Day, which aims to raise awareness about the five remaining species of rhinos.
Sumatran rhinos are the only Asian rhinoceroses with two horns. They are covered in woolly hair that ranges from reddish brown to black in color.
While Javan rhinos are considered the world's rarest rhinos, Sumatran rhinos are under increasing threat by poachers and continue to lose precious forest habitat.
"One more rhino means one percent more animals. That is not a lot but it is certainly an upward trend," Ellis said.
PHOTO: Sumatran rhino Ratu with her one-day old male baby Andatu beside her at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in Way Kambas National Park in Lampung, Sumatra island, in a photo released by the Indonesian Ministry of Forestry on June 25, 2012.
CREDIT: AFP.