Andalas' Story
Andalas, the first Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) born in captivity in more than 112 years, is the living, breathing result of a groundbreaking research and breeding effort undertaken by American zoos, the Indonesian government, and the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary. Andalas, whose name is the ancient Indonesian word for the island of Sumatra, was born September 13, 2001, at the Cincinnati Zoo. This little male rhino weighed 70 pounds at birth, and immediately became a worldwide news sensation. Andalas’ parents, Emi and Ipuh, were rescued from southwest Sumatra, where the remaining forest areas are rapidly being cleared to make way for an ever-expanding human population. Emi and Ipuh became part of an international breeding program developed to increase the population of the Critically Endangered Sumatran rhino (now numbering no more than 300 individuals, primarily living on Indonesia’s Sumatra island.). Andalas is the first in a long line of Sumatran rhinos that hopefully will be bred in captivity and eventually introduced back into the wild to help bolster wild rhino populations.
By his first birthday, Andalas had grown to 940 pounds – as large as a horse but only a little more than half the size of a full-grown Sumatran rhino. When he was nearly 2 years old, Andalas was weaned and was eventually transferred to the Los Angeles Zoo to make room for a new addition – mom Emi had conceived yet again! During his stay in California, Andalas grew to more than 1,600 pounds. By the time he was five, he had reached his full adult size.
The Global Management Propagation Board for Indonesian rhinos recommended that the fully-grown Andalas be moved to the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary (SRS), a 250-acre complex located within Way Kambas National Park in south Sumatra. (The SRS is home to five rhinos that are part of an intensively managed research and breeding program aimed at increasing the Sumatran rhino population. At the sanctuary, the rhinos reside in large, open forest areas where they can experience a natural habitat while still receiving state-of-the-art veterinary care and a healthy diet.)
On February 19, 2007, Andalas arrived in Jakarta from Los Angeles after a round-the-world trip that included stops in Amsterdam and Kuala Lumpur. When Andalas’ plane arrived in Jakarta, he was greeted by a welcoming ceremony presided over by the Indonesian Minster of Forestry and covered by every newspaper and television station in the country! After clearing customs in Jakarta, Andalas took a 12-hour road trip to eventually reach the sanctuary in Way Kambas, where a special “boma” – a pasture and paddock area – was waiting for him. During a 2-month quarantine period, he was monitored hourly by veterinarians and keepers. Andalas has adjusted well to life in Sumatra. Adapting to the heat and humidity of the Indonesian rainforest, he shed some of the red-brown hair he had grown in the U.S. (Unlike other rhinos, Sumatran, or “hairy” rhinos have patches of short, stiff hair which helps keep mud caked to their bodies, cooling them off and protecting them from insect bites.)
After 3 months, Andalas was released into a big paddock where he has gradually been introduced to two young females, “Rosa” and “Ratu”, living at the sanctuary. Although he was initially scared of the other rhinos and ran away when he heard them coming, Andalas soon began exhibiting typical rhino behaviors with his peers – kicking up dirt, feigning attack, chasing, and trampling bushes. Andalas is now 6 years old, and his keepers at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary have high hopes that he will soon breed with one of the three female rhinos at the sanctuary, helping to ensure the future success of the SRS rhino population.
