Posted on 28 February
2011
Dramatic new video footage of two critically
endangered Javan rhinos and their calves
was released today by WWF-Indonesia and
Indonesia’s National Park Authority.
The footage, from a
motion-activated video camera in Indonesia’s
Ujung Kulon National Park, is a huge boost
to efforts to save this almost extinct species
that is threatened by poaching, disease,
and the possibility of a tsunami or volcanic
eruption.
Watch footage:
“The videos are great
news for Javan rhinos and prove that they
are breeding in Ujung Kulon,” said Dr. Eric
Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF-US. He
warned, however, that the survival of the
species is still far from certain. “There
are no Javan rhinos in captivity—if we lose
the population in the wild, we’ve lost them
all,” Dinerstein said, pointing out that
an eruption by nearby volcano Anak Krakatau
could easily wipe out all life on the peninsula
where the rhinos are concentrated.
Possibly the rarest
mammal on Earth
The Javan rhino is possibly
the rarest mammal on the planet with as
few as 40 left. Once numerous throughout
Southeast Asia, its population is now likely
isolated to Ujung Kulon National Park in
Indonesia. This small population size makes
it extremely vulnerable to any threat, including
poaching for its horn, which is traditionally
believed to have medicinal properties.
The video trap, installed
by WWF-Indonesia and Ujung Kulon National
Park Authority, captured images of the rhinos
and their calves between November and December
of last year in the dense tropical rainforests
of Ujung Kulon National Park on the island
of Java. WWF is working with Ujung Kulon
National Park authorities, International
Rhino Foundation, Indonesia Rhino Foundation,
Asian Rhino Project, IUCN/SSC Rhino Specialist
Group and local communities to protect this
species from poaching, monitor the remaining
rhinos, and establish a new population by
relocating several individuals.
Conservation efforts
have increased dwindling populations in
the past
“Fifty years of conservation
experience has taught us that saving Javan
rhinos is possible through population management
and proper protection,” said Dr. Barney
Long, head of Asian species conservation
at WWF-US. “We’ve done it before—helping
rhino populations rebound in Africa and
South Asia—and we can do it again in Indonesia.”
Dinerstein added, “The
recovery of the white rhino in South Africa
is the most successful example of international
wildlife conservation for a highly endangered
species. With less than 50 left in a single
reserve in 1900, there are currently around
20,000 alive in nine countries. Examples
like this give us hope that in 10 or 20
years through translocation and proper protection
we can begin to witness a Javan rhino rebound.”
You can support the
Javan rhino
WWF has established
an emergency fund to support the establishment
of a Javan Rhino Study and Conservation
Area into which a handful of rhinos will
be moved.
Visitors to www.javanrhinohope.org
can learn more about the species and donate
directly to a fund that will establish the
conservation area and monitor the several
individual rhinos that will populate it
later this year. Establishing a new population
is an essential buffer against a potential
tsunami and an outbreak of disease and/or
poaching.
The first video, recorded
in November, shows a mother and male calf
walking steadily towards the video trap,
munching leaves. At one point the calf turns
away from the camera and wags its tail to
swat a fly. The second family made its video
debut in December in a 30-second video that
shows a larger female calf, approximately
one year old, walking with her mother.
There is hope for the
future of the species
“It’s such a joy to
see these healthy calves calmly ambling
through the dense tropical forest,” Long
said. “It gives me hope for the future of
the species and it’s moments like these
that make all of the hard work of Indonesia’s
dedicated field staff worthwhile.”
Dramatic
new video footage of two critically endangered
Javan rhinos and their calves was released
today by WWF-Indonesia and Indonesia’s National
Park Authority.
