All species

Rhino species Population Javan rhino 72 Sumatran rhino <80 Black rhino Between 5,366 and 5,627 Greater one-horned rhino 3,588 White rhino Between 17,212 and 18,915

Javan rhino

Rhinoceros sondaicus

In-situ population: 72 animals

IUCN Red List Classification: Critically Endangered

The biggest threat to the Javan rhino is the very small size of the remaining population. With an estimated 72 animals left in a single population in Ujung Kulon National Park, the Javan rhino is extremely vulnerable to natural disasters and disease. Numbers of Javan rhinos have increased during the last few years, thanks to the expansion of the habitat available for them into neighbouring Gunung Honje National Park.

Sumatran rhino

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

In-situ population: less than 80 individuals

IUCN Red List Classification: Critically Endangered

There are now only less than 80 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild, and efforts are now being invested in captive breeding in an attempt to boost the population. Historically, poaching had depleted the population but their biggest threat today is habitat loss – including forest destruction for palm oil and paper pulp – and increasingly, small, fragmented populations failing to breed.

Black rhino

Diceros bicornis

In-situ population: 5,366 to 5,627

IUCN Red List Classification: Critically Endangered

Large-scale poaching saw black rhino populations decline from around 70,000 individuals in 1970 to just 2,410 in 1995 – that’s a dramatic decline of 96% over 20 years. Thanks to the persistent efforts of conservation programmes across Africa, black rhino numbers have risen since then to a current population of between 5,366 and 5,627 individuals. Importantly, their geographic range has also increased, with successful reintroduction programmes repopulating areas that had previously seen native black rhinos.

Greater one-horned rhino

Rhinoceros unicornis

In-situ population: 3,588

IUCN Red List Classification: Vulnerable

Greater one-horned rhinos have made a startling comeback from the brink of extinction. By 1900, fewer than 200 individuals remained, but there are now more than 3,580 individuals, due to concerted conservation efforts in both India and Nepal; their remaining strongholds. Although poaching remains a high threat, particularly in Kaziranga National Park, a key area for the species, the need to expand their habitat to provide space for the growing population is a key priority.

White rhino

Ceratotherium simum

In-situ population: 17,212 to 18,915

IUCN Red List Classification: Near Threatened

The overwhelming rhino conservation success story is that of the Southern white rhino. The white rhino recovered from near extinction with numbers as low as 50 – 100 left in the wild in the early 1900’s, this sub-species of rhino has now increased to between 17,212 and 18,915, with the vast majority living in a single country, South Africa. The Northern white rhino, however, has only two females left, after the last male, Sudan, died in March 2018.