Javan Rhino

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).

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?

• 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.