The little Sumatran rhinocerous ranks amongst the most endangered mammal species in the world. He is a small fellow, weighing about a third of his African cousins. Rusty red hair sparsely covers his thick hide. Once he roamed all throughout much of the rainforests of southern Asia, but now only a few small wild populations remain, scattered across Malayasia. Mostly he lives alone, except when he wants a bit of female company. He's quite a vocal chap, whistling and wailing to attract the attention of his neighbours. He also marks his territory by scraping the soil with his feet and twisting saplings into distinctive patterns. Most of his day is spent in mud wallows and he digs himself a muddy puddle to roll around in. Mud protects him from nasty parasites. When not wallowing, he munches on tasty saplings, fruits, leaves and twigs.

With less than 300 of these rhinoceri left in the wild, their future looks bleak. They have had limited success in zoos, with only a few births recorded and they are often overshadowed by their larger and more charasmatic African cousins. Efforts to conserve these small, hairy fellows have resulted in the disturbance of wild populations as thery are snatched from their homes and placed in zoos, and very little breeding success. Their survival lies in preserving their natural environment. Which is, of course, threatened by illegal logging, not to mention poaching. Do not buy paper that is "Made in Malayasia" (or Indonesia or the Philippines) as this is all ex-rainforest, look for stuff that is locally grown or labelled "made from sustainable forests".