Unlike its Indian and African cousins, the critically endangered
Sumatran rhinoceros is covered with patches of stiff hair, most
prominent on its ears.
The two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros shares the bleak distinction of
world’s most endangered rhino with its regional cousin, the Javan
rhino. The smallest of the rhino family, the Sumatran rhinoceros lives
in isolated pockets in the dense mountain forests of Malaysia,
Indonesia, and possibly Myanmar (Burma).
Sumatran rhinos are
generally solitary creatures that feed on fruit, twigs, leaves, and
shrubs. Like other rhinos they have a keen sense of smell and sharp
hearing, and they leave a network of scented trails throughout the
forest in order to find one another.
As the smallest rhino, they
weigh about 1,760 pounds (800 kilograms), and grow to a height near 5
feet (1.5 meters) at the shoulders and 8 to 10 feet (2.5 to 3.2 meters)
in length. Unlike most other rhinos, their hide, dark red-brown in
color, is covered with patches of short, dark, stiff hair. The hair
helps keep mud caked to the body, which cools the hide and protects it
from insects.
