Rhinos a rare sight in Ujung Kulon<\/p>\n
UJUNG KULON (JP): Unless you can spare at least three weeks,
\ndo not expect to see any of the famed one-horned Javan rhinos
\nwhen you visit the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java.<\/p>\n
The Rhinoceros Sandaicus is the mascot of the Ujung Kulon
\nNational Park -- a mascot considered misleading by its chief,
\nAgoes Sriyatna.<\/p>\n
He recently told a group of visiting journalists that he is
\nconsidering changing the park's promotional approach,
\nspecifically the mascot, because many visitors leave the park
\ndisenchanted.<\/p>\n
\"Many people told me that they imagined seeing rhinos roaming
\naround the woods and bathing in streams,\" Agoes said.<\/p>\n
\"I propose, instead, that we stop focusing solely on the
\nrhino, and include other animals of this park,\" Agoes said.<\/p>\n
Among the other animals more easily seen are Javan deer, which
\nfreely graze around the tourist lodges on Peucang Island,
\nbanteng, or wild cattle, which have roamed Java since the 17th
\ncentury, wild pigs, peacocks, at least 250 species of birds, and
\nassorted amphibians and reptiles.<\/p>\n
\"For the last two years I have held this position. I realize
\nit is becoming more and more difficult for visitors to see rhinos
\nin the national park,\" Agoes said, adding that the park's
\nreputation will suffer if all the visitors have the same
\ncomplaint.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, he said, few visitors realize that rhinos are
\nshy and rather solitary creatures who tend to shun crowds.<\/p>\n
According to Agoes, the main reason for using the rhino as the
\npark's emblem is its endangered, protected status.<\/p>\n
\"It is customary for every national park to have a certain
\nmascot, and it is not against the law to change the mascot when
\nit seems necessary,\" he added.<\/p>\n
Another reason rhinos are hunted down is the local belief that
\na feast is incomplete without a host of rhino delicacies, such as
\nrhino stew or rhino soup.<\/p>\n
Amir Hasan, a ranger on Handeuleum island, told The Jakarta
\nPost that locals hunt the rhinos to celebrate special events such
\nas Idul Fitri.<\/p>\n
Handeuleum is located just off the north-eastern coast of the
\nUjung Kulon peninsula and offers a variety of forests, wildlife
\nand wetlands.<\/p>\n
\"We can usually tell who is planning to go on a rhino hunt
\nwhen we see a household buy masses of food,\" Amir said.<\/p>\n
They will be preparing for the feast while their relatives
\nventure into the jungle to hunt the rhino, using a type of home-
\nmade gun called bedil locok. The party will be held after the
\nhunters returns with their catch which will be chopped up,
\nprepared and served to the multitude.<\/p>\n
He said people can often be dissuaded from hunting down the
\nrhino because the rangers often have a good personal relationship
\nwith the locals.<\/p>\n
\"I don't usually reprimand them but I do tell them how
\ndetrimental and selfish their behavior is,\" Amir said. \"This will
\nreduce the chances of their grandchildren seeing a live rhino.\"<\/p>\n
History<\/p>\n
The one-horned Javan rhino is the most precious of all the
\nanimals in the park. Once found across much of South-East Asia,
\nthe first accounts of the Javan rhino date back to China's T'ang
\ndynasty (A.D. 618-906) when Java was noted as a source for rhino
\nhorns.<\/p>\n
In Java during the 1700's rhinos were so numerous and damaging
\nto the agricultural plantations that the government paid a bounty
\nfor every rhino killed, bagging five hundred within two years.<\/p>\n
Ujung Kulon's rhino population is now estimated at 50 to 70.<\/p>\n
The world first became aware of the natural treasures of Ujung
\nKulon in the 1820's when botanists began venturing into the
\npeninsula to collect exotic tropical specimens.<\/p>\n
The first step towards becoming a national park was taken at
\nthe end of the 19th century when the Ujung Kulon peninsula was
\nestablishing a reputation as a big game hunting area.<\/p>\n
Ujung Kulon, which means West Point, became a Nature Reserve
\nin 1921 and was declared a National Park in 1980. The park had
\nbeen allowed to remain in a wild state since the eruption of the
\nKrakatau volcano in 1883, when 20-meter tidal waves destroyed up
\nto a third of Ujung Kulon and swept away all the villages on the
\nnorthern coast.<\/p>\n
In 1992, along with Krakatau Island, the national park was
\ngiven the distinction of being Indonesia's first World Heritage
\nSite along with the Komodo Islands.<\/p>\n
Ujung Kulon National Park is an extravagant cornucopia of
\nnature for those with an explorer's bent -- and a knack for
\npatience. (14)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/rhinos-a-rare-sight-in-ujung-kulon-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}