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)