The two horned Sumateran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a direct descendant from the prehistoric furry rhinoceros, which walked on this planet for about 40 milion years ago. This 'pocket-size' rhinoceros is the smallest of the five excisting kinds and less agressive than his African friends. It's an harmless vegetarian with a certain charming level: their youngsters make the same noise as baby sheep.
The Sumateran rhinoceros is a shy, solitair traveller, which is very hard to observe in the field. At least one investigator was forces to base his results on almost only footprints and droppings. Rhino's speak by smell and leave urine and droppings as 'information'. Different odours tell whether a female is already pregnant, or just wanting that to be.

Image  Sumateran rhino

The Sumateran rhino is on the verge of extinction. On the entire world there are only 800 left, 700 of them on Sumatera itselt. For centuries the animal is the centre of hunt for it's ivory horns and other body parts which are very expensife because it's seen as a good medicine in Asia. In his History of Sumatera, Marsden explained that 'the horn is seen as a poison and an antidote, and it's formed into mugs for that reason'. Nowadays the horn is used for fever lowering medication in China. The 'bad' habit of rhino's to follow the same trace every time makes them very vulnerable.
What is also very threathening is the continued chopping of the lowland forest, the habitat of the rhinoceros. This pushed most rhino's back to the more rough highlands, however they need swampy mudbaths to protect their skin against dehidration and parasytes. The animals now live on shrinking islands which are too far away from eachother to form reproductional groups, so their excistance is threathened.
In 1985, a program for reproducing rhino's in captivity. Twelve Sumateran rhino's were spread over the zoo's of Indonesia, England and the United States and now it's waiting for youngsters. The Sumateran rhinoceros can only be pregnant once every four years, and they have to carry sixteen months for one youngster.