Javan Rhino

Description:

The Javan rhino is a grey color and has a single horn that measures about 10 inches. Their skin has loose folds making it look like they have armor plating. They look very much like the greater-one rhinoceros, but have a much smaller head and less apparent skin folds.

Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species, with 60 individuals surviving in Java, Indonesia.

Habitat:

The Javan Rhino primarily inhabits dense lowland rain forests, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with rivers, large floodplains, or wet areas with many mud wallows. The range of Javan rhinoceros once stretched from Bengal, through south-east Asia and down to Sumatra but today, the Javan rhinoceros is only found in Vietnam and on the island of Java. This part of the world is also at risk of volcanic eruptions, which could harm much of their habitat.

Diet:

The Javan rhinoceros is a herbivorous animal meaning that it sustains itself on a purely plant based diet. Javan rhinos browse the densely vegetated sub-tropical forest for leaves, flowers, buds, fruits, berries and roots which they dig up from the ground using their horns. Due to invasive species, much of these berries and fruits are becoming harder and harder for the Javan Rhino to find.

Causes of Endangerment:

Due to it's large size, the Javan rhino's only real predator in the wild are large wild cats such as tigers that will prey on the Javan rhino calves and weak individuals. Humans are the biggest threat to the Javan rhinoceros as they have been hunted to the brink of extinction for their horns.

Today, the Javan rhinoceros has been poached for it's horns to the point that it is on the brink of extinction. Hunting of the Javan rhinoceros along with habitat loss in their native regions have led to there being only a handful of Javan rhinoceros individuals left in the jungles of south-east Asia today.

Why it Matters:

Until the late 1800's, Javan rhinos existed from northeast India and Southeast Asia, and on the island of Sumatra. If we lose the population in Java, the entire species will disappear.

Resources for further research