The faint future of Java rhino

International conservationists hope to increase the number of Java rhinos, the same species as the rhino, marking the extinction in Nam Cat Tien. This is the rarest mammal on earth.

>>>Rare rhinos are about to give birth in Indonesia

The Javan rhinoceros was once the most popular species in Asian rhino species, extending from Southeast Asia, to India and China. But the statistics so far show that only about 35 Javan rhinos are still alive in nature, none are kept in captivity.

Java rhino image has been considered a symbol of Southeast Asian countries such as Myanmar, Vietnam and Indonesia. But now it's just the past when only a few individuals live on Indonesia's Java island, according to the Guardian.

No zoo in the world, even breeding programs can create Java rhinos. Those who devote all their effort to protect these rare animals are also unlikely to see them in the wild.

Image of the last Javan rhino in Vietnam extinct.

"I went to Java rhino habitat three times but only saw their footprints , " said Kerry Crosbie, director of the Asian Rhino Project. "You have to be extremely lucky to see a Java rhino , " he said.

Based on camera traps and footprints in Ujung Kulon National Park, west of Java Island, scientists found that the Javan rhinoceros still exists in the wild in very small numbers.

About 35 Javan rhinos are currently residing in Ujung Kulon Park - which is considered their last fortress, with 22 children, 13 males and 5 baby rhinos. But a non-governmental organization in Indonesia denies that figure, they say, there are actually about 47 Javan rhinos.

The cause of conservation is that rhinos lose their habitat and illegal hunting took place in the past. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) puts Java rhino on the list of potentially endangered animals.

Mr. Kerry Crosbie is worried when there are many weak factors that hinder rhino breeding."The average reproductive period of mother's rhino is 3 years / time, the gestation period is about 16 months, which hampers in raising their numbers ," said Kerry Crosbie.

Habitat of this rare animal is also threatened by natural disasters. In 1883, volcanic eruption on Krakatoa Island - an island near Java Island that devastated the whole environment, affected the rhino.

Other plant species developed are a direct obstacle to rhino life, especially some varieties of areca family, which strongly dominate the area of ​​plants - the main food of rhino.

In addition, according to Crosbile, rhinos are difficult to compete with food sources with banteng cows - local animals that are fertile and rapidly increasing in number.

Where to distribute Java rhino. (Photo: Guardian)

Unlike African rhinos, poachers have almost no chance to reach the Javan rhino because they are set up by the forest guards quite closely.

However, many experts are concerned and unreliable in the ability to breed, increase the number of Javan rhinos, when from 1967 until now the number of rhinos only increased from 25 to 35. This proves that the reproductive and developmental capacity of Java rhino is very slow.

Adhi Hariyadi, International Fund for Nature Protection (WWF) in Indonesia said he would seek individuals from other places to implement rhino conservation propagation.

Mr. Adhi Hariyadi hopes this program will be as successful as the breeding of Indian rhinos from 25 to thousands, and like white rhinos from 1 to dozens in the wild.

"If the Javan rhino recovery plan is on schedule and successful, the number of rhinos can increase by 20% over the next 30-40 years , " Adhi Hariyadi said.

Australian conservationist Tim Flannery emphasized: "Rhino is an important species in balancing fruit quantity and maintaining a healthy ecosystem".

Last year, WWF announced the last Java rhino in Vietnam was extinct. The rhino in Vietnam died in Cat Tien National Park in 2010 despite government protection efforts.

In Vietnam, the demand for buying horns is increasing and this is considered a luxury product and it is believed that it can detoxify and cure cancer. However, there is no scientific evidence to support these rumors.