Until now, the Sumatran rhino has become one of the most endangered species on earth. In 2008, researchers estimated that the population lived in the range of 220 to 275 only.
Their status on the official website of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) has not changed, is still endangered or endangered, and population trends continue to decline. Ironically, the fate of this hairy rhino was not much different from his life in the past.
A study published in the journal Current Biology on Thursday (14/12/2017) explained that the rhinoceros has been faced with a phase of extinction since 10,000 years ago.
"This species has been in a phase of extinction for a very long time," said Terri Roth, rhinoceros from the Center for Conservation and Research of Endangered Species Species zoo in Cincinnati, USA.
The results are based on genetic analysis of Sumatran rhinoceros DNA named Ipuh who lived in the Cincinnati Zoo for 22 years.
The team used a technique called Pairwise Sequential Markovian Coalescent (PSMC) modeling, which allows them to estimate populations of species that span thousands of generations by only sequencing genes from one individual alone.
Using Ipuh DNA samples, the team compared the results with fossil and climate data to collect a picture of the fate of the Sumatran rhinoceros over the last few million years.
According to the data, the species reached the peak of the population about 950,000 years ago, and the number reached about 57,800 species. However, the number of populations experienced ups and downs during the Ice Age, which lasted from about 2.6 million years ago to about 12,000 years ago.
One of the problems is about the breeding which is fairly slow. Females do not reach the level of sexual maturity until the age of 6 or 7 years, while the new males reach the level of sexual maturity at the age of 10 years.
Then, females only mate once every four or five years, and their pregnancy periods for 16 months. After that, the rhinoceros will stay with their mother for two to three years.
If the Sumatran rhino is extinct, the entire genus is extinct. Because the Sumatran rhino is the only species of the genus Dicerorhinus that can survive until now. This genus is the most primitive group that evolved from 15 million years to 20 million years ago.