Javan Rhino
The rarest of all rhinoceroses, with a single horn and a critically endangered population.
The Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus), also called Javan rhino, Sunda rhinoceros and lesser one-horned rhinoceros is a critically endangered member of the genus Rhinoceros of the family Rhinocerotidae, and one of the five remaining extant rhinoceros species. It has a plate-like skin with protective folds and is one of the smallest rhinoceros species with a body length of 3.1–3.2 m (10.2–10.5 ft) and a 1.4–1.7 m (4.6–5.6 ft) long tail. The heaviest specimens weigh around 2,300 kg (5,100 lb). Its horn is usually shorter than 25 cm (9.8 in).
- Scientific Name
- Rhinoceros sondaicus
- Conservation Status
- Critically Endangered (IUCN Red List)
- Estimated Population
- Fewer than 80 individuals
- Primary Habitat
- Lowland tropical rainforest and coastal mudflats
- Diet
- Herbivore (browse on leaves, shoots, twigs, and fallen fruit)
Lore & Background
The generic name Rhinoceros is a combination of the ancient Greek words ῥίς (ris) meaning nose and κέρας (keras) meaning horn of an animal. The specific name sondaicus is derived from sunda, the biogeographical region that comprises the islands of Sumatra, Java, Borneo, and surrounding smaller islands. The Javan rhino is also known as the lesser one-horned rhinoceros (in contrast with the greater one-horned rhinoceros, another name for the Indian rhino).
In Their Own Story
Mist clung low over Ujung Kulon's volcanic soil, muffling the jungle until only the crunch of wet leaves broke the silence. A massive shape shouldered through the ferns, its skin a mosaic of ancient scars and dried mud plates. The Javan rhino paused, its solitary horn slicing the grey air as it tested the wind for danger. It stood alone—a solitary monarch ruling a kingdom that had long forgotten its name.
Reader's Guide
The Javan rhinoceros can live around 30–45 years in the wild. It historically inhabited dense lowland rainforest, wet grasslands, and vast floodplains at forest edges. It is mostly solitary, except for courtship and rearing offspring, though groups may occasionally congregate near wallows and salt licks. Aside from humans, whom they usually avoid, adults have no natural predators in their range. Very small juveniles may be preyed upon, if left unsupervised, typically by Javan leopards, the now extinct Javan tiger, or rarely saltwater crocodiles. Scientists and conservationists rarely study the animals directly due to their extreme rarity and the danger of interfering with such an endangered species. Researchers instead rely on camera traps and fecal samples to gauge health and behavior. Consequently, Javan rhinos are the least-studied of all rhinoceros species.
Did You Know?
- Like the Indian rhino, the Javan rhino has a single horn (the other extant species have two horns).
- Only bulls have horns; cows are the only extant rhinos that remain hornless into adulthood.
- The Javan rhino is the rarest of all rhinoceroses, with only one currently known wild population of around 74 within Ujung Kulon National Park.
- Two adult female Javan rhinoceroses, each with a calf, were filmed using a motion-triggered trail camera, the video being released on 28 February 2011 by WWF and Indonesia's National Park Authority.
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