--- title: Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died description: Researchers hoped Tam, brought into captivity in 2012, would contribute to breeding efforts to save the critically endangered species canonical: https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/ author: Hillary Leung article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2019-05-28T06:45:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-23T23:36:43.877Z article:section: Science og:title: Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died og:description: The death poses further a threat to the critically endangered species og:url: https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta43408ee119138b1/69894a7c8fd2ee2eb135e545/sumatran-rhino.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: sumatran-rhino.jpg og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died twitter:description: The death poses further a threat to the critically endangered species twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta43408ee119138b1/69894a7c8fd2ee2eb135e545/sumatran-rhino.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died ## Video: The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died [Watch (HLS stream): The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w62yrA00.m3u8) (1:42)  _Published 2018-03-20. The world’s last male northern white rhino has died, according to a Kenyan wildlife conservatory and anti-poaching NGO WildAid, spelling the likely extinction for the subspecies._ by [Hillary Leung](https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung May 28, 2019 6:45 AM UTC  A Sumatran rhino is seen at Way Kambas National Park in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia, on Nov. 8, 2016. A Sumatran rhino is seen at Way Kambas National Park in eastern Sumatra, Indonesia, on Nov. 8, 2016.Goh Chat Hin—AFP/Getty Images by [Hillary Leung](https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/) ## Hillary Leung May 28, 2019 6:45 AM UTC The last known male Sumatran rhino in Malaysia [has died](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2019/05/last-sumatran-rhino-malaysia-dies/) following a months-long battle with worsening health, National Geographic reports. The death poses a further threat to the [critically endangered species](https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/6553/12787457) of which [fewer than 80](https://rhinos.org/species/sumatran-rhino/) remain in the world. “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news that Tam, Malaysia’s last male Sumatran rhino, has passed away,” non-profit organization Borneo Rhino Alliance [wrote](https://www.facebook.com/BORAborneorhinoalliance/posts/2357860444449975) in a Facebook post Monday. “We will share more details in due time, but right now we need some time to mourn his passing,” the organization added. Caretakers noticed a decline in the rhino’s appetite and alertness in recent months, and subsequent tests revealed that his organs had begun to fail. Tam was estimated to have been in his thirties, and therefore of old age given that the species normally has an average life span in the wild of 30 to 40 years. The rhino was captured after being discovered roaming in an oil palm plantation in 2008\. Researchers hoped he would be able to contribute to efforts to breed the critically endangered species in captivity, but Tam died without reproducing. Just one female Sumatran rhino, Iman, is left in Malaysia. Another female rhino, Puntung, was euthanized in 2017 due to cancer. According to the International Rhino Foundation, Indonesia now holds the [only remaining Sumatran rhinos](https://intlrhinofoundation.wordpress.com/2019/05/27/mourning-tam-sabahs-last-male-sumatran-rhino/) — no more than 80 — in the world. Living mostly in the forests of Sumatra, the rhinos are threatened by poaching and deforestation; more than 70% of the population has been lost in recent decades. Despite being widespread in the past, [only five species](https://www.iucn.org/content/rhinos) of rhinos survive today and are all under threat of extinction, the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/"},"headline":"Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died","datePublished":"2019-05-28T06:45:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T23:36:43.877Z","description":"Researchers hoped Tam, brought into captivity in 2012, would contribute to breeding efforts to save the critically endangered species","url":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/","keywords":["animals","onetime","overnight"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta43408ee119138b1/69894a7c8fd2ee2eb135e545/sumatran-rhino.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Hillary Leung","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/hillary-leung/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blta43408ee119138b1/69894a7c8fd2ee2eb135e545/sumatran-rhino.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"sumatran-rhino.jpg","caption":"INDONESIA-CONSERVATION-RHINO","creditText":"Goh Chat Hin—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/","name":"Malaysia's Last Known Male Sumatran Rhino Has Died"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"The World's Last Male Northern White Rhino Has Died","description":"The world’s last male northern white rhino has died, according to a Kenyan wildlife conservatory and anti-poaching NGO WildAid, spelling the likely extinction for the subspecies.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/w62yrA00/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-03-20T08:14:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/w62yrA00.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/","duration":"PT1M42S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5596728/malaysia-male-sumatran-rhino-dead/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```