The Sumatran Rhinoceros: What Went Wrong and How to Move Forward

From the 1960s, flawed conservation strategies that failed to address the lack of successful reproduction as the root cause of the species decline accelerated the Sumatran rhino’s downward spiral through the extinction vortex. The factors that undermined Sumatran rhino conservation—and continue to this day—are rooted in the complex interplay of human psychology, group dynamics and institutional power set against a backdrop of the “sustainable development” paradigm, and fundamental shift of attention away from endangered species recovery. In what little time remains to prevent the first mammal genus extinction in the twenty-first century the Government of Indonesia must provide adequate resources at the national, provincial and local levels to support capture of the last remaining wild individuals, natural breeding in managed facilities, application of assisted reproductive technologies (ART), bio-banking and the implementation of the metapopulation management-based recovery plans developed by Indonesian experts to ensure that every remaining Sumatran rhino is positioned to contribute to the survival of the species.