javan rhinoceros animals in danger project

'There's also a problem with banteng – a type of local cattle – which is increasing in number and in food competition with the rhino. 'We are currently working out the best eradication programme for the palm, because it is blanketing the forest,' says Crosbie. The vegetation is changing, with the arenga palm tree spreading across the park, crowding out the rhino's food source. The 1883 eruption of nearby Krakatoa devastated the area, but with humans displaced and new vegetation blooming, the incident provided an ideal staging ground for the Javan rhino's last stand.Ī second catastrophe won't be quite so helpful to the species. Such a disaster in the region isn't merely theoretical. A catastrophic event, be it a disease or a tsunami, could wipe all of them out.' But it does mean all our eggs are in one basket. 'The fact they are all in one place is better for breeding, unlike the Sumatran rhino, which is in fragmented pieces of forest. They have a 16-month gestation, which is an issue with raising their numbers.' 'Generally, they produce just one calf every three years, and that's in prime breeding conditions. 'There is potentially a low genetic pool as there are so few of them left,' says Crosbie. The cornered animal is listed as critically endangered by the IUCN, was confirmed extinct in Vietnam last year and some conservationists privately fret the species is doomed. What is not in doubt is sharp decline the species has suffered in the past century due to habitat loss and poaching. However, NGOs in the region estimate the total number could, in fact, be as high as 47. There are 35 confirmed Javan rhinos in its last bastion – 22 males, 13 females and five juveniles. 'You have to be incredibly lucky to see one.'Ĭamera traps and footprints in the Ujung Kulon national park, on western tip of Java, confirm that the rhino does still exist, albeit in perilously low numbers. 'I've been to its habitat three times and got very excited just to see its footprints,' says Kerry Crosbie, project director at the Asian Rhino Project, which funds the efforts of Indonesian rhino NGOs.

Javan rhinoceros animals in danger project