Mongabay has finished publishing their latest series of articles on Asian rhinos. This is an excellent and accessible series and offers insights into the challenges, successes, and failures of captive-breeding programs in general and the specific challenges faced by an international captive breeding program for the Sumatran rhino beginning in 1984.


Part One: 1984: the meeting that changed everything for Sumatran rhinos – The untold story of two days in Singapore that launched a wildly ambitious, and calamitous, captive breeding program.

Part Two: A Herd of Dead Rhinos – Capturing Sumatran rhinos was one thing. Keeping them alive turned out to be another thing entirely.

Part Three: The Great Rhino U-turn – After 17 years, researchers finally unlock the mysteries of Sumatran rhino reproduction.

Part Four: The Rhino Reckoning – The Sumatran rhino captive breeding plan is poised for a re-evaluation — and a relaunch.