Rhinos a rare sight in Ujung Kulon
Rhinos a rare sight in Ujung Kulon
UJUNG KULON (JP): Unless you can spare at least three weeks,
do not expect to see any of the famed one-horned Javan rhinos
when you visit the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java.
The Rhinoceros Sandaicus is the mascot of the Ujung Kulon
National Park -- a mascot considered misleading by its chief,
Agoes Sriyatna.
He recently told a group of visiting journalists that he is
considering changing the park's promotional approach,
specifically the mascot, because many visitors leave the park
disenchanted.
"Many people told me that they imagined seeing rhinos roaming
around the woods and bathing in streams," Agoes said.
"I propose, instead, that we stop focusing solely on the
rhino, and include other animals of this park," Agoes said.
Among the other animals more easily seen are Javan deer, which
freely graze around the tourist lodges on Peucang Island,
banteng, or wild cattle, which have roamed Java since the 17th
century, wild pigs, peacocks, at least 250 species of birds, and
assorted amphibians and reptiles.
"For the last two years I have held this position. I realize
it is becoming more and more difficult for visitors to see rhinos
in the national park," Agoes said, adding that the park's
reputation will suffer if all the visitors have the same
complaint.
Unfortunately, he said, few visitors realize that rhinos are
shy and rather solitary creatures who tend to shun crowds.
According to Agoes, the main reason for using the rhino as the
park's emblem is its endangered, protected status.
"It is customary for every national park to have a certain
mascot, and it is not against the law to change the mascot when
it seems necessary," he added.
Another reason rhinos are hunted down is the local belief that
a feast is incomplete without a host of rhino delicacies, such as
rhino stew or rhino soup.
Amir Hasan, a ranger on Handeuleum island, told The Jakarta
Post that locals hunt the rhinos to celebrate special events such
as Idul Fitri.
Handeuleum is located just off the north-eastern coast of the
Ujung Kulon peninsula and offers a variety of forests, wildlife
and wetlands.
"We can usually tell who is planning to go on a rhino hunt
when we see a household buy masses of food," Amir said.
They will be preparing for the feast while their relatives
venture into the jungle to hunt the rhino, using a type of home-
made gun called bedil locok. The party will be held after the
hunters returns with their catch which will be chopped up,
prepared and served to the multitude.
He said people can often be dissuaded from hunting down the
rhino because the rangers often have a good personal relationship
with the locals.
"I don't usually reprimand them but I do tell them how
detrimental and selfish their behavior is," Amir said. "This will
reduce the chances of their grandchildren seeing a live rhino."
History
The one-horned Javan rhino is the most precious of all the
animals in the park. Once found across much of South-East Asia,
the first accounts of the Javan rhino date back to China's T'ang
dynasty (A.D. 618-906) when Java was noted as a source for rhino
horns.
In Java during the 1700's rhinos were so numerous and damaging
to the agricultural plantations that the government paid a bounty
for every rhino killed, bagging five hundred within two years.
Ujung Kulon's rhino population is now estimated at 50 to 70.
The world first became aware of the natural treasures of Ujung
Kulon in the 1820's when botanists began venturing into the
peninsula to collect exotic tropical specimens.
The first step towards becoming a national park was taken at
the end of the 19th century when the Ujung Kulon peninsula was
establishing a reputation as a big game hunting area.
Ujung Kulon, which means West Point, became a Nature Reserve
in 1921 and was declared a National Park in 1980. The park had
been allowed to remain in a wild state since the eruption of the
Krakatau volcano in 1883, when 20-meter tidal waves destroyed up
to a third of Ujung Kulon and swept away all the villages on the
northern coast.
In 1992, along with Krakatau Island, the national park was
given the distinction of being Indonesia's first World Heritage
Site along with the Komodo Islands.
Ujung Kulon National Park is an extravagant cornucopia of
nature for those with an explorer's bent -- and a knack for
patience. (14)