Javan rhino colony stable at 50 to 60

JAKARTA (JP): The endangered Javan rhino population in Ujungkulon National Park, West Java, has remained unchanged, between 50 and 60, since the 1980s, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) Indonesia.

Meanwhile, the park's banteng ((wild bull) population has grown extensively in the past 20 years and are now competing with the rhinos for food, the WWF said in a statement.

The monitoring of rhinos and other protected animals in Ujungkulon is conducted by way of camera trapping and fecal DNA analysis to understand the animal's genetic diversity and habits.

In addition, regular patrols are carried out in the park by rhino monitoring and protection units, involving local residents and non-governmental organizations.

WWF also reported that the critically endangered Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus, a subspecies of the Javan rhino, in Vietnam's Cat Tien National Park, has been photographed for the first time.

The rhino is believed to be Asia's rarest mammal, with only five to eight of them still surviving in Cat Tien National Park. Little is known about these animals, and it is not clear whether the seven photos taken last week are of female or male animals.

One photo shows a rhino with a small horn, a characteristic of female Javan rhinos. Another has an animal with an open mouth showing large incisors, a characteristics of male Javan rhinos. (pan)