Chancellor of IPB University, Prof. Arif Satria signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Texas A&M University, Colossal Biosciences, and Re:Wild in Texas, USA on Monday (27/02). This collaboration aims to increase the population of the Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia.

Through this collaboration, IPB University and partners are targeting to increase the Sumatran rhino population in conservation areas through a gene-editing approach.

“Efforts to increase the Sumatran rhino population are not only beneficial for the conservation of endangered animals in Indonesia, but also for other endangered animals in the world,” said Arif Satria.

The capacity of IPB University will also increase and be recognized as one of the World Class Universities in Indonesia.

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, there are five species of rhinoceros in the world, namely: white rhinoceros in Africa, black rhinoceros in Africa, one-horned rhinoceros in Asia, Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros in Indonesia.

The Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is the only Asian rhinoceros to have two horns. In Indonesia, Sumatran rhinos are kept in Way Kambas National Park (TNWK).

The latest news about the Sumatran rhino is the birth of a female rhino calf on March 24, 2022. The female rhinoceros calf was born as a result of mating between female rhino Rosa and male rhino Andatu. The birth of this female rhino is Rhino Rosa’s ninth pregnancy, with a gestation period of 476 days. (AP)