Illustrated by Wai Yan Win Aung

Drawing of the Sumarian Rhino by me using the drawing and editing tool Gimp.

My friend John is an animal expert. He watches National Geographic, Animal Planet, Discovery Channel and those other animal related channels. He always says that Rhinos are one of the most endangered animals in the world.

Rhinos are being hunted and killed all around the world and illegally smuggled and sold. Due to this, the Rhino population is falling rapidly. Perhaps the most endangered of these Rhinos are the Sumarian Rhino. It is so bad that they are classified as critically endangered, just one level above extinction. What’s mind blowing is that in 2008, there were less than 250 of them left on earth. They are dying at a rate of 50% every 10 years. If there were less than 250 in 2008, that means there are less than 125 left on Earth in 2018. If things continue this way, they could be completely gone in a matter of a few years.

Their reason for dying is mainly from the loss of their habitat. Humans are destroying it by clearing  the land for palm oil plantations. They are also poaching, the act of illegally killing and/or smuggling animals. But sometimes they clear the rhinos’ habitat to cut down wood or kill them for medicine. Only a few are left in South East Asia.