The Jakarta Post 23 Dec 08;
Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK) employees discovered four baby rhinoceroses during a routine census in Pandeglang, Banten, West Java, earlier this month, tempointeraktif.com reported Tuesday.
"Finding these baby rhinos proves they're still procreating and regeneration is ongoing," TNUK head Agus Primabudi said.
He added the four varied in size. The smallest baby had hind feet measuring at 17 and 18 centimeters in diameter; the largest baby's feet measured 23 and 24 centimeters.
TNUK reported they had recorded a total of 50 rhinoceroses in the park in 2008. (amr)
Rare rhino calves found in Indonesian jungle
Yahoo News 23 Dec 08;
JAKARTA (AFP) – Four calves of the world's rarest species of rhino have been found in remote jungle on Indonesia's Java island, giving hope to efforts to save them from extinction, an official said Tuesday.
"Four Javan rhinos of six to seven months age were seen by scientists on the beach near the jungle during a recent field survey," Agus Primabudi, the head of the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, told AFP.
Alerted to the presence of humans, the baby rhinos fled into the park to where two adult rhinos aged roughly 35 to 36, believed to be their parents, were staying, Primabudi said.
Primabudi said that the birth of the four calves has given new hope that the Javan rhinos can breed in the wild at levels high enough to keep the local population alive into the future.
"The most important thing we can do is to protect their habitat so that they can breed easily," he said.
The Javan rhino, which is distinguished by its small size, single horn and loose skin folds, is likely the most endangered large mammal on the planet, according to WWF.
Roughly 90 percent of the world's 50 or so Javan rhinos live in Ujung Kulon park, an oasis of wilderness on the western edge of one of the world's most densely populated islands.
The Javan rhino is classified as critically endangered by WWF and none of the animals currently live in captivity.
Calves of rare Javan Rhino found in Indonesia
Thaindian News 24 Dec 08;
Jakarta, Dec 24 (Xinhua) Four calves of Javan Rhinoceros, one the world’s most endangered species, have been found in an Indonesian jungle this week, indicating that they have started breeding and raising hope of saving it from extinction.It is believed that the specie, which is found only in the Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java, could not breed due to unfavourable environmental conditions, said Hadi Alikadri, head of species programme of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), Indonesia.
The park is home to some 40-60 Javan Rhinoceroses (Rhinoceros sondaicus).
“Conservationists have found four calves (Javan Rhinoceroses) during a survey this week,” Alikadri said Wednesday, adding that the calves are around four-year old.
He said the finding put the total number of calves that have been born in the last three years to seven.
“The high population of wild bulls coupled with a type of plant widely grown, but disliked by the rhinos, hampered their breeding in the park,” said Alikadri.
“These factors must be reduced. The population of wild bull (around 700) and the amount of the plant must be slashed,” he said.
The Javan Rhino is sensitive to disturbances, which can force them to abort breeding that is limited to just once a year, said Alikadri.
