--- title: Sumatran Rhino Deemed Extinct in Malaysia description: The Sumatran rhino—one of the rarest rhino species—is now considered extinct in the wild in Malaysia. canonical: https://time.com/4006981/sumatran-rhino-extinct-malaysia/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-08-21T21:15:04.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-14T02:38:10.000Z article:section: Science og:title: There Aren't Any Wild Sumatran Rhinos Left in Malaysia og:description: The rare rhino species is now considered extinct in the wild in Malaysia og:url: https://time.com/4006981/sumatran-rhino-extinct-malaysia/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc0a5fad157e86ec/69886076e20a8724aea8ce1e/sumatran-rhino1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2560 og:image:height: 1440 og:image:alt: Male Sumatran rhino (Borneo rhino) (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) in wallow, Tabin Reserve, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia, Southeast Asia, Asia og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: There Aren't Any Wild Sumatran Rhinos Left in Malaysia twitter:description: The rare rhino species is now considered extinct in the wild in Malaysia twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbc0a5fad157e86ec/69886076e20a8724aea8ce1e/sumatran-rhino1.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Sumatran Rhino Deemed Extinct in Malaysia > Sponsored content. 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It reaches 40,000 subscribers with a 34.2% open rate and a 2.1% click rate as of August 2026. #### Where can I follow the energy transition as a business story? Future Proof covers climate and energy as an economic and business story rather than only an environmental one. It publishes every Friday and is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Who writes Future Proof? Justin Worland, a senior correspondent at TIME and an award-winning climate journalist, writes Future Proof. #### Is Future Proof free? Yes. Future Proof is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life [Watch (HLS stream): Waking the Dead: Bringing Extinct Species Back to Life](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/7mURxfr4.m3u8) (4:03)  _Published 2014-03-12. Conservationists and scientists have a saying, "extinction is forever." But soon biologists will clone long-gone animals in the hope to redefine that axiom to "DE-extinction is forever."_  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:38 AM UTCPublished: Aug 21, 2015 9:15 PM UTC  A male Sumatran rhino (Borneo rhino) pictured in Malaysia, in a file photo dating Feb. 2012. A male Sumatran rhino (Borneo rhino) pictured in Malaysia, in a file photo dating Feb. 2012.Louise Murray—Robert Harding World Imagery/Corbis  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Updated: Dec 14, 2023 2:38 AM UTCPublished: Aug 21, 2015 9:15 PM UTC **Correction appended, Aug. 21, 2015** The Sumatran rhino—one of the rarest rhino species—is now considered extinct in the wild in Malaysia, according to [a study](http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?aid=9889954&fileId=S0030605315000472) published this month. While two female Sumatran rhinos were captured for breeding in Malaysia in 2011 and 2014, no other rhinos have been spotted in the wild in the country since 2007, said a [press release](http://www.eurekalert.org/pub%5Freleases/2015-08/nhmo-tsr081915.php) from the Natural History Museum of Denmark. The survival of the species now depends on fewer than 100 rhinos in Indonesia. The Sumatran rhinos are going extinct because they’re losing their habitat, being poached for their horns and living too far apart from each other, researchers said. The researchers who wrote the paper recommended that Indonesia prioritize conserving the last few rhinos within the country’s borders. **Correction**: The original version of this article misstated the rarity of the Sumatran rhino. 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