Camera traps recorded just four females in a recent survey.

It is barely a week since the extinction of the Javan rhino subspecies (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) was confirmed, and already there is troubling news about the remaining Javan rhinos.

There may be just a handful of females among the world’s last population of Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus), which are found only in Indonesia.

According to The Jakarta Globe, camera traps recorded 17 rhinos this year and only four were females.

The rhinos were found in the eastern half of Ujung Kulon National Park.

Video of Javan rhino and calf:

Recently, the video cameras were moved to the western half of the park, which is “more remote”.

It is hoped that additional female Javan rhinos will be found; the results could be known in a few weeks.

Learn more about the extinction of the Javan rhino in Vietnam at “Gone Forever: Javan Rhino Declared Extinct in Vietnam“.

‘Operation Javan Rhino’

However, there is hope for Javan rhinos in Indonesia.

The International Rhino Foundation (IRF) along with an international team of partners, is working to expand the useable habitat for Javan rhinos in UKNP by creating the 4,000 hectare Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA).

We are doing this by constructing small bridges, an electric fence, and a patrol road; eradicating invasive species which have taken over a good portion of the habitat; planting rhino food plants; providing a water supply and saltlick; and constructing additional guard posts. The continued survival of the Javan rhino depends on their population increasing in numbers as rapidly as possible, and in spreading the population out so that ‘all the eggs are not in one basket’.

Find out how you can help Operation Javan Rhino here.

Image via YouTube

Rhishja Cota-Larson

I am the founder of Saving Rhinos LLC, which publishes news and information about the global rhino crisis. I am the Editor of Rhino Horn is Not Medicine and Project Pangolin, author of the book Murder, Myths & Medicine, 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.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

A second critically endangered Javan rhino carcass has been discovered – this time in Indonesia.

The world’s most threatened large mammal species, the Javan rhino, has suffered a second devastating loss: A carcass was discovered last week in Indonesia’s remote Ujung Kulon National Park.  

Last month, one of just a handful of Vietnam’s Javan rhinos was brutally killed by poachers, who hacked out the horn.

Ujung Kulon holds the only viable population of the critically endangered species; no more than 48 Javan rhinos remain on the planet, and at least 44 of those are found in Ujung Kulon. 

Dr. Susie Ellis, executive director of the International Rhino Foundation, noted that the rhino’s death appeared to be from natural causes.

Javan rhinos persist in Ujung Kulon because they are carefully monitored and guarded by Rhino Protection Units, elite anti-poaching teams that patrol the park every day.  While the loss of this rhino was tragic, it appears to have died from natural causes rather than poaching.

Rhino Foundation of Indonesia director Widodo Ramono recognized the dead rhino as a male that was frequently seen in area via camera trap, and confirmed the rhino’s horn was intact.

The death of even one animal represents a significant loss for this critically endangered species.

The last photographic record of this animal, a male that had been frequently seen at a nearby wallow, was in March.  Forensic evidence suggests that it died shortly after that time. 

The decomposing skeleton, with its horn intact, was found along a densely forested wildlife trail.

Remaining Javan rhinos at significant risk of extinction

Although the rhino population in Ujung Kulon has remained relatively stable over the past 20 years, the overriding problem facing the species is that there is only one viable population in one location.

Thus there is still significant risk of extinction from a single natural disaster or introduced disease.

Ujung Kulon and surrounding areas were decimated by the eruption of Krakatau in 1883, one of the most violent volcanic events in modern times. Anak Krakatau (“son of Krakatau”) is still active, and the risk of another eruption, and the possibility of a resulting tsunami, still exists.

There also have been a handful of rhino deaths as a result of diseases introduced by domestic livestock living in villages near the park.

Expanding Javan rhino habitiat

Plans to expand the Javan rhino habitat in Indonesia are under way. Rhino experts agree that this step will increase the chances that a second viable population of Javan rhinos can be established, lessening the species’ risk of extinction.

Source: International Rhino Foundation

Photos via 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.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

Critically endangered Javan rhinos living in Ujung Kulon National Park will soon have more room to roam – and hopefully, breed.

Plans to establish a second habitat for Ujung Kulon’s Javan rhinos are moving forward, and rhino experts are hopeful that the increased area will entice these shy creatures to increase their numbers by 2015.

The current population estimate for Javan rhinos living in Ujung Kulon is fewer than 60.

New home for critically endangered Javan rhinos

A 3000 hectare Javan rhino conservation area is reportedly under development in the Gunung Honje area of Ujung Kulon National Park, and the relocation of a group of rhinos from the existing population is expected to occur as early as next year.

A spokesperson for Ujung Kulon National Park, Enjat Sudrajat, said via The Jakarta Globe, that in addition to helping to increase Javan rhino numbers, the new area would boost tourism.

The conservation area is also expected to become a world-class wildlife park that could also help to boost the number of domestic and foreign tourists …

I think Gunung Honje’s location will be suitable since it has enough pasture areas and it’s not too far [from the original habitat].

Several organizations are working together on this critical project, including the Indonesian Rhino Foundation (YABI) and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF).

Critically endangered Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) are both found in Indonesia.

Rhino populations have been decimated worldwide, due to the insatiable appetite for rhino horn in China and other Asian countries, where primitive superstitions about rhino horn still persist – despite scientific evidence that rhino horn has no medicinal effect on humans.

Source: Endangered Rhinos to Get New Home in Ujung Kulon, The Jakarta Globe, 23 February 2010

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.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.

The last population of approximately 50 Javan Rhinos in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park is to be divided into two groups in hopes of encouraging them to breed.

There is just one population of about 50 Javan Rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus) still surviving in Ujung Kulon NP, and experts believe the numbers will increase if a second group of rhinos is established elsewhere. The new “crash” (a group of rhinos) will initially consist of three females and one male.

Having all of the rhinos in just one location increases the risk of extinction, as a single catastrophe, such as disease or a natural disaster, can wipe out an entire population.

In a recent Jakarta Globe article, Ujung Kulon National Park spokesman Enjat Sudrajat said the new location would be close by, in the Gunung Honje area.

WWF project leader of Ujung Kulon National Park, Adhi Rachmat Hariyadi said the idea of a second habitat had been discussed since 1995.

Wildlife authorities anticipate completing the project by 2012.

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.

Website - Twitter - Facebook - More Posts

See Rhino Horn is Not Medicine for more information.