There is hope for the world’s 48 Javan rhinos, thanks to a team of international rhino conservation groups.

An exciting project to expand the habitat of the world’s only viable population of critically endangered Javan rhinos is moving forward, thanks to a coalition of international rhino conservation organizations.

Another 9,884 acres (4,000 ha) of habitat will be created in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park as a safeguard against extinction that could be caused by a disease outbreak or a natural disaster, such as a volcanic eruption. The expanded area is also expected to encourage breeding and increase the population of the world’s rarest large mammal.

According to Dr. Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, having all of the Javan rhinos in a single location keeps the species at a high risk of extinction.

With the help of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia, the Worldwide Fund for Nature, Save the Rhino, and the Indonesian government, we have committed to improving the available habitat for Javan rhinos to increase and spread out the population.

After last year’s habitat assessment study by the partners, the recommendation was to set up a Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area in Gunung Honje area (in the eastern part of the park) so that rhinos could fully utilize the Park’s land.

$300,000 needed to complete the project

In order to complete this effort, the International Rhino Foundation launched Operation Javan Rhino to help raise USD $300,000 in funds. The money will be used to plant rhino food plants, create water sources and wallows, construct guard posts and patrol routes, and hire anti-poaching units to patrol the area.

Widodo Ramono, executive director of the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia, noted that the ground team is already working in the park, constructing an electric fence, small bridges and new patrol routes.

We will also improve the habitat by removing invasive plants and providing an improved and reliable water supply.

Agus Priambudi, director of Ujung Kulon National Park added that intensive management of the Park is being expanded.

A number of encroachers were moved from within the Park, and we are constructing new guard posts so that the Gunung Honje area is better protected.

And thanks to daily monitoring by Rhino Protection Units, Javan rhinos have been kept safe from poachers.

Rhino Protection Units

Over the past 14 years, rhino poaching has essentially been eliminated from the park due to the diligence of Rhino Protection Units, who monitor the Javan rhino population daily by following footprints and assessing dung. Video camera traps have also been installed by WWF Indonesia, and 60 cameras were generously donated by the Aspinall Foundation in January.

Site manager for WWF Indonesia’s project in the Park, Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi, explained that the camera traps provide essential data for determining how many rhino occupy Ujung Kulon.

So far, from the videos we have analyzed, we have identified 27 individual rhinos and extrapolated a maximum of 47 animals in the Park, which still needs to be confirmed by ground surveys.

Expanding the Javan rhinos’ habitat is a critical first step in bringing these animals back from the very edge of extinction. The next step will be identifying a secondary location elsewhere in Indonesia, and translocating rhinos to that area, to create another population of Javan rhinos.

Illegal rhino killings at 16-year high

The current rate of illegal rhino killings has reached a 16-year high, as demand for rhino horn from China and Vietnam is soaring. According to cultural folklore, rhino horn is believed to “cure” a wide range of ailments – from fever to “devil possession” – and is still highly sought after for use in traditional medicines.

According to rhino experts, including the International Rhino Foundation, rhino poaching is a high-stakes endeavor undertaken by organized crime networks. These syndicates often involve corrupt government officials and foreign diplomats. Cathy Dean, executive director of Save the Rhino International, confirmed that “rhinos are killed for the sole intention of selling their horns on the black market”.

Rhino horn has actually undergone rigorous scientific testing by the pharmaceutical company Hoffmann LaRoche and by renowned rhino horn expert Dr. Raj Amin at the Zoological Society of London (ZSL). The results were conclusive: Rhino horn has no medicinal value whatsoever.

Source: International Rhino Foundation

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. Besides writing Rhino Horn is Not Medicine, I am the author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, the Editor of Project Pangolin, and a writer for the environmental news blog Planetsave. When I'm not blogging about the illegal wildlife trade, I like to rock out to live music.

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