"LESSER ONE-HORNED" RHINOS
Javan rhinos are the most elusive of the five rhino species. Due to human interventions such as hunting and poaching, two Javan sub-species are extinct, but disease, habitat loss, and inbreeding pose their greatest threats today.
They have proven notoriously difficult to breed and there are no Javan rhinos in captivity. Java's oldest and largest protected area, Ujung Kulon National Park, hosts the sole Javan rhino population.
There is hope for the species which has grown from 50 to 76 in the past decade. An Indonesian government ministry released rare footage of a young calf and its mother from a hidden camera in 2022.
Javan rhino calves Helen and Lucifer were seen in footage taken from camers traps in the Ujung Kulon national park, September 2020
📷 Copyright: Environment & Forestry Ministry, Indonesia (AFP)
• Rhinoceros sondaicus
"Rhinoceros” from the Greek “rhino”, meaning “nose” and “ceros”, meaning “horn” and “sondaicus” referring to the Sunda islands in Indonesia, “Sunda” meaning “Java”
• Indonesian Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
• Indian Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis)
• Vietnamese Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus)
• Indonesian: Critically endangered
• Indian: Extinct (declared extinct in 1925)
• Vietnamese: Extinct (declared extinct in 2010)
• Indonesia's Ujung Kulon National Park is home to the last remaining 76 Javan rhinos
• The Javan rhino population has slowly increased from 50 individuals in 2012 to 76 today. Even though the Javan rhino population has remained stable, the numbers are still desperately low, making it one of the most endangered mammals on the planet
• Current range: The Ujung Kulon National Park, a protected 497.59 km² reserve, located in Banten Province at the south western most tip of Java.
• Habitat: Dense lowland rainforest
• Diet: They have one of the most varied diets of the five rhino species and consume a variety of twigs, bushes, fruits and foliage
• Javan rhinos were historically found throughout northeast India and Southeast Asia. Several countries have lost their populations, including Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, and Sumatra in Indonesia.
• Longevity is unknown, but Javan rhinos are thought to live to 30-40 years
• Dusky grey (armour like) loose hanging skin with heavy folds, a small head and single horn
• Males and females are similar in size
• Body length: 200-400 cm
• Height (to shoulder): 120-170 cm
• Weight: 900–2,300 kg
• Year round breeding
• Gestation: 15-16 months
• Birth numbers: Single calf
• Birth interval: 4-5 years
• Female sexual maturity: 5-6years
• Male sexual maturity: 10 years
• Very little is known regarding their social behaviour although they are solitary except for breeding pairs, mothers with young calves and occassionaly young adults
• They are one of the least vocal of the rhino species, but like the other rhino species they communicate with dung piles known as middens and urine
• 1 Single horn measuring 25-30 cm
• Horn base is approximately 12 by 18 cm narrowing to between 5-7 cm
Copyright © 2023 Action For Rhinos - All Rights Reserved. Last updated: 13th September 2023.
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