Sumatran Rhino. Secret place in Sumatra. I won't say where but that truly is a camera trap picture of a wild Sumatran Rhino. This represents the hardest thing I've ever tried to do in my life. And to date, my greatest semi-failure which is why I put an asterisk on this animal. I have spent more time, money, blood, sweat, tears and suffered more to try to photograph this one animal than ALL the other animals on my website put together.

The Effort Invested

I have taken 16 total trips for Sumatran Rhino starting in the late 1990s. Many of those trips only to figure out they were extinct in that area. In total, I have had 11 trips where I was confirmably within range of wild Sumatran Rhino. That is still months and months of my life out looking for these in the forest. I have been absolutely mauled by leeches, biting flies, ticks, mosquitos, wasps and agressive bees. My clothes and skin have been ripped to pieces by plants. I have taken bad falls onto rocks and otherwise gotten injured so many times I can hardly remember them all now. If you care to see any of the dozens of photos I have of me bleeding all over myself and heading to a clinic after a trip, just ask. Probably the most interesting challenge has been tigers. I have had far more close calls with Sumatran Tigers out there than Sumatran Rhinos. I have been stalked up in a tree hammock for nearly 3 days and nights. One walked 2 meters (6ft) or so from my feet while I slept in a camp one night. I was with 3 local guides/porters one night when a tiger circled our camp for several hours one morning until we left camp.

The Sightings and Near misses

For my nearly 5 full months of walking around in possible Sumatran Rhino areas, I have been rewarded with 5 close encounters with a wild rhino. The first close call happened in Way Kambas NP where I was in camp with ranger patrol. It was my turn to stay up and gaurd for elephants at night when a rhino approachd camp. It actually got pretty close. About 9 meters (30ft) or so away. I heard it breathing, I heard it inhale a smell of our camp then it simply vanished silently leaving tracks. Another similar encounter I heard one "singing" a mating call in a lite rain one late evening. Sumatran Rhino make very bizarre sounds including an almost "singing" mating call. If that is singing, its pretty terrible. It sounds more like out of tune dolphin squeels to me but it gets called singing. Then I have had 3 sightings of wild Sumatran Rhino. THREE! That is actually incredible. It is extrememly rare to even get one sighting. On one trip, I was in a tree hammock and a rhino came towards the trails I was watching but unfortunately it came from a dense bushy area and behind a ridge. I only saw the back of that one and even that was only a few seconds. It got to where it likely could smell me then changed course and vanished silently. Finally, I had the incredible luck of seeing a mating pair together. Late evening (just after 8pm) one approached in the pitch black night to within 6 meters (20ft) of my hammock. I flipped on a flashlight to see it's face right next to me. It made the loudest alarm sound I have ever heard and took off into the night. That was all of maybe 3~4 seconds. About 2 minutes later, the female walked up near my hammock as well though she stayed further back. I tried again to flip on a flashlight and get a video of that one. Unfortunately, after all the effort I've put in, all the trips to clinics, all the risks and major injuries, infections, etc. I have not been able to get a photo of a wild Sumatran Rhino. I have obtained camera trap videos of them. And the Tigers. In fact, I got several camera trap videos of wild Sumatran Rhino over the years. But not the hand-held photo I dream of. Over the decades, I found first-hand evidence they are still pairing up and even breeding in the wild! On my last trip, we found brand new baby tracks along mom's tracks! A good sign!





The above 2 pictures are of Harapan. The most famous of Sumatran Rhino. He was born in the US then flown to Sumatra to participate in the breeding program. The rules have changed over the years but sometimes you may be able to get permission to visit the breeding program. As a standard, these rhinos are off limits to tourists. Obvioulsy the ones in the breeding program do not count as wildlife. Nearly every picture you see online of a Sumatran Rhino is of the ones in the breeding program.



On many, mant occassions, I have been fortunate enough to find fresh droppings or tracks from wild Sumatran rhino. In total, I do consider myself extremely lucky to have spent so much time around Sumatran Rhino and learned so much about them in person. Very few people have been so close to a wild one let alone seen 3 and heard 2 others close by. Truth is, I'm too old to keep suffering for this project. Unfortunately, I will have to accept some defeat and likely spend my days unsatisfied with all my efforts.