The rarest animal on the planet, there are only 80 left in the world

This animal, characterized by a single horn, was once found throughout northeastern India and southeast Asia.

According to VNA, on September 13, the Indonesian Ministry of Environment and Forestry said the country has welcomed the birth of a baby Javan rhino - one of the world's most critically endangered species, signaling good news for the conservation of this rare animal.

Accordingly, a video clip taken a few months ago from a camera at Ujung Kulon National Park , a reserve on the western tip of Java island, shows baby rhino Iris walking with her mother.

Javan rhinoceros at Ujung Kulon National Park (Banten province, Indonesia). (Photo: AFP/TTXVN).

The calf, Iris, is also the mother's first calf and is estimated to be around 3-5 months old. This gives hope for the conservation and future enhancement of the Javan rhino population.

Satyawan Pudyatmoko, a senior official at Indonesia's Environment Ministry, shared the joy in a statement, calling the discovery "good news" and proof that Javan rhinos are still capable of reproducing normally in the wild.

Last year, Indonesia also discovered a female Javan rhino, believed to be born in February 2023.

Javan rhinoceros. (Source: AFP)

The Javan rhinoceros has the scientific name Rhinoceros sondaicus . Identification features: has only one horn , but the body length is shorter than the Indian rhinoceros, about 3.1-3.2m.

Once found across northeastern India and southeast Asia, they are now among the five most endangered rhino species, largely due to poaching.

According to the International Rhino Foundation, there are only about 80 Javan rhinos left in the world, all in Indonesia.

The first studies of this rhinoceros species appeared in 1787, when two animals were shot dead in Java. German naturalist Petrus Camper (died 1789) considered them a separate species.

The Javan rhinoceros is a solitary animal , except when mating and with its mother and calf. It enjoys wallowing in mud to keep cool and protect against disease and parasites.

By the third year, females are sexually mature, while males are by the sixth. Their gestation period is estimated to be 16-19 months. After five years, they can mate again to produce the next litter.

Earlier, on June 12, the Indonesian National Police said that about 26 rare Javan rhinos have been killed since 2018. The rhino species, endemic to Java, is critically endangered.

A court in Banten has sentenced the leader of one of the rhino poaching gangs to 12 years in prison, after he was found guilty of killing at least six Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park between 2019 and 2023.

Mr. Ardi Andono, head of Ujung Kulon National Park, said security will be increased at the park.

Accordingly, the park will establish a comprehensive protection system for the 35,000-hectare peninsula. Staff are conducting 24-hour patrols on both land and sea.

The number of patrol teams has also increased from four to seven and they are equipped with thermal drones and cameras to monitor any infiltration activities.