Mammals

The species is predominantly a browser, feeding on shoots, twigs, young foliage and fallen fruit, although it can also graze on various species of grass. The diet is supplemented with salt, usually from salt-licks, but rhinos have been known to drink seawater as well when available. Individuals prefer to feed at dawn or dusk and spend their days bathing and wallowing in mud. They are largely solitary animals with loosely defined territories, although they sometimes congregate at wallows and salt-licks. Females become sexually mature at about 3-4 years, with males maturing slightly later. The rate of reproduction of this species is relatively slow, with females giving birth to a single calf every 4-5 years.

The species prefers tall grass and reed beds in dense lowland rain forests. A good supply of water and plentiful mud wallows are essential, as is the presence of salt-licks for acquiring minerals. The rhino can tolerate disturbed forest, but the intensity of human activities has forced the few remaining populations to retreat into suboptimal upland habitats.

Fewer than 60 animals remain in just two populations. There are no animals in captivity and the Vietnamese population is estimated to number fewer than 8 individuals.

The rarest of all the rhinoceros species. It is classified as Critically Endangered (CR C2a) on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and is listed on Appendix I of CITES.

Habitat loss and fragmentation have played a major role in the decline of the species. The two remaining populations are now protected in national parks. However, the rhinos continue to be threatened by illegal poaching for the horn and other body parts used in traditional Asian medicine. Another major cause for concern is the fact that the population sizes are so small. This makes the rhinos extremely vulnerable to disease, natural disasters and problems caused by inbreeding. The situation is critical for the Vietnamese population, which is believed to contain no adult males.

International conservation organisations such as WWF and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) are working together with the Vietnamese and Indonesian governments to protect remaining Javan rhinos. The IRF is concentrating on setting up and supporting regular anti-poaching patrols to reduce the occurrence of illegal poaching within protected habitats. This approach is combined with education programmes for the local communities, so that they can learn how to use sustainable methods to farm the surrounding land without causing further harm to the rhinos. WWF supports this scheme, and has also launched an action plan designed to tackle the issue of habitat loss. At least in Java, numbers seem to be slowly recovering as a result of these efforts. A programme is also in place to decrease the demand for rhino horn products by researching possible alternatives for use in traditional Asian medicine.

Despite anti-poaching efforts, animals are still being killed for their horns, and more protection is urgently needed. This still might not be enough to save the tiny Vietnamese population, which is thought to contain no adult males, and more intensive conservation efforts are likely to be required if this subspecies is to be saved. Several groups support the ideas of establishing more sanctuaries, where managed breeding programmes can be carried out in areas of natural habitat. In the meantime, efforts should be made to locate and establish additional wild populations (there have been several unconfirmed sightings of rhinos in areas where they are currently believed extinct).

International Rhino Foundation
The IRF was founded in 1993 in response to the global crisis in rhino conservation. The IRF is a collaborative conservation initiative providing technical, administrative and financial services and support for scientific research and intensive management for both captive and wild rhinos. The IRF is involved in both in situ and captive programs, which the IRF believes are both critical for the survival of the rhino especially the extremely rare Javan rhino.

WWF
The rhino is one of WWF flagship species, acting as an ambassador and highlighting the need for conserving the habitats in which they live. WWF works across the globe and aims to tackle the main threats facing rhino by strengthening protected areas in Asia, lobbying to halt the illegal timber trade, and stamping out the illegal trade in horn.

Rhino Resource Centre
The Rhino Resource Center is committed to assisting research and conservation of the rhinoceros worldwide by collecting all publications and maintaining archives. The website provides data on all published work on each of the five species of rhinoceros.

Asian Rhino Specialist Group. 1996. Rhinoceros sondaicus. In: IUCN 2006. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 08 August 2006.

CITES

Foose, T. J. F., Van Strien, N. (eds.). 1997. Asian Rhino Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Specialist Group. IUCN, Cambridge UK.

International Rhino Foundation. (July 2005).

Kemf, E. and Van Strien, N. 2002. Wanted Alive: Asian Rhinos in the Wild. A WWF Species Status Report. WWF, Gland, Switzerland.

Nowak, R. M. 1999. Walker’s Mammals of the World. Sixth edition. The Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore and London.

Save the Rhino. (July 2005).

Distribution map based on data in Thomas J. Foose and Nico van Strien (Editors). 1997. Asian Rhinos – Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK. 112 + v pp.