What it is
The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only living two-horned Asian rhino and the hairiest. IUCN lists it as Critically Endangered. The International Rhino Foundation’s 2025 figures, unchanged from 2022, estimate 34-47 animals in the wild, plus a handful in the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary at Way Kambas. Isolated forest pockets often hold animals that never meet a mate.
Range
Fragments of Sumatra and, at vanishing densities, possibly still a few on Borneo. The historical range ran from the Himalayan foothills through mainland Southeast Asia.
What happened
Poaching emptied most forests; roads and oil palm then isolated the rest. A semi-wild breeding programme at Way Kambas has produced calves. That is an insurance herd, not a restored wild population.
When / status
Critically Endangered now, in the low tens.
Human role
Horns and forest conversion. Remaining animals persist because of fences, patrols, and managed breeding.
Sources
IUCN Red List (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis, CR); IRF State of the Rhino 2025 (34-47).