By Dian Hasan | May 13, 2009

Javan Rhino

Sumatran Tiger

Orang Utan

The world’s largest archipelago, Indonesia, carries the accolade as among the world’s last bastion against global warming. With the world’s second largest tropical rainforest after Brazil’s Amazon, it’s no wonder that Indonesia also has the second richest biodiversity. 

A  tall order of responsibility indeed to carry for Indonesia alone, it has become global concern for the future of mankind.  Many international organizations are involved directly with plight of Indonesia’ tropical rainforests, from World Wildlife Fund’s (WWF) Save Sumatra, to Greenpeace and Save the Rainforest, promoting awareness of the loss of valuable biodiversity and natural habitat for the world’s most endangered species, and the fight against unsustainable (illegal) logging  and mining, forest fires, poaching, pulp & paper industry, illegal human settlers, and encroaching urban development. As a developing country, with the world’s 4th largest population, the resource-rich Indonesia relies heavily on oil & gas, mining, and logging, in addition to a growing industrialization. There is a constant dilemma to find the right balance between economic development and keeping environmental damage in check.

The demands on the environment to continue growing the economy is staggering, ie. giving impetus to illegal logging on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo (Kalimantan). Precious tropical rainforests are destructed at an alarming rate.  These forests are being lost at the alarming rate of over five million acres per year – the equivalent of 300 football fields per hour.  As these forests disappear, so does habitat for threatened species, including orangutans, tigers, and rhinos.

Here’s a closer look at these endangered animals:

JAVAN RHINO (Rhinoceros Sondaicus): also known as one-horned rhino that distinguishes it from its African cousin, the Javan Rhino is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and is among the most elusive of all endangered animals. World Wildlife Fund (WWF) estimates that there are only 60 left in the wild, mostly in Southwest Java in the Ujung Kulon National Park, listed as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

ORANG UTAN: derived from the Malay and Indonesian words “orang” meaning “person”, and “hutan” meaning “forest”.  A species of great apes that are known for their intelligence, that are found only in rainforests on the islands of Sumatra and Borneo (Indonesia’s Kalimantan).  On the surface their population seem to be in healthy numbers, as they probably receive the most media attention – both local and international, however accelerated deforestation and continued rampant poaching has significantly threatened their habitat.

SUMATRAN TIGER (Panthera Tigris Sumatrae): a subspecies of tiger found on the island of Sumatra. Related to the now extinct Javan and Bali Tigers, Sumatra is now home to the most endangered big cat family member in Asia. WWF estimates that there are less than 500 Sumatran Tigers left in the wild.

PYGMY ELEPHANT (Elephas Maximus Borneensis): a subspecies of the Asian Elephant and found in Borneo (Indonesia’s Kalimantan). Smaller than their Asian elephant cousin that grow up to 3 meters, the “petite” Borneo Pygmy elephant males grow to less than 2.5 meters. They have rounder faces, larger ears, and longer tails that almost touch the ground.  And as befitting the region they come from , Pygmy elephants are known to be less aggressive than other elephants.

By Jonathan Wootliff | The Jakarta Post | April 7, 2009.

It’s easy to become immune to the endless stream of reports about the plight of some of the planet’s most endangered species. But I make no apology for again highlighting how crucial it is for Indonesia to protect its wildlife.

The Worldwide Fund for Nature’s (WWF) so-called 9 to Watch in 2009 includes three species that are indigenous to this country. According to the international environmental group, the Javan Rhinoceros, the Sumatran Tiger and the Borneo Pygmy Elephant are among the animals closest to extinction.

WWF scientists say these, and many other species, are at greater risk than ever before because of poaching, habitat loss and climate change-related threats.

At the top of the list is the Javan Rhinoceros, of which there are apparently less than 60 still surviving in the wild. This is probably the rarest large mammal species in the world and is critically endangered. Poaching and pressure from a growing human population pose the greatest risk to the two protected areas where they live.

The world’s smallest and most endangered cetacean, the vaquita, is the second most threatened species. Found in Mexico, this tiny porpoise is often killed in gillnets and could soon be extinct. Environmentalists are working with local fishermen, local and international nonprofit organizations, and private sector and government officials in an unprecedented effort to save the vaquita, of which it is estimated there are only 150 remaining.

It is in Nigeria and Cameroon where the world’s fourth most threatened animal, the Cross River gorilla, is hanging onto life by a thread. Sadly there are less than 300 of these animals left in the few remaining forest patches that are their home. Conservation measures are urgently needed for this beleaguered animal, which is probably the world’s rarest great ape.

But we return to Indonesia to find the creature that’s fourth most likely to disappear forever: The much-reported Sumatran Tiger, of which it is estimated that less than 500 are in existence today.

Accelerating deforestation and rampant poaching could push the Sumatran tiger to the same fate as its now-extinct Javan and Balinese relatives in other parts of Indonesia. Tigers are poached for their body parts, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine; skins also are highly prized. Environmentalists are researching the Sumatran tiger population using camera traps, conducting anti-poaching patrols and working to reduce human-tiger conflict as the cat’s habitat shrinks. Through the efforts of WWF and its partners, the Indonesian government in 2008 doubled the size of Tesso Nilo National Park, which is a critical tiger habitat.

The North Pacific right whale is ranked fifth in the survival stakes. With a population of less than 500, this magnificent mammal is found in the Northern Pacific of the United States, Russia and Japan.

The North Pacific right whale is one of the world’s rarest cetaceans, almost hunted to extinction until the 1960s. It is rarely sighted and has a poor prognosis for survival because of collisions with ships, entanglement in fishing nets and the prospect of offshore oil and gas development in Alaska’s Bristol Bay. Work is being undertaken to improve shipping safety to avoid collisions and trying to prevent oil and gas development in Bristol Bay, the whale’s primary summer feeding ground.

In sixth place is the black-footed ferret, which is found in the Northern Great Plains of the United States and Canada.

With less than 1,000 still alive, this is one of the most endangered mammals in North America because its primary prey, the prairie dog, has been nearly exterminated by ranchers who consider it a nuisance.

Few species have edged so close to extinction as the black-footed ferret and recovered, but through captive breeding and reintroduction, there are signs the species is slowly recovering. Borneo’s Pygmy Elephant is the seventh most likely to die out with less than 1,000 left.

These smallest of all elephants must compete with logging and agriculture for space in the lowland forests of Borneo. Projects are underway to try to ensure their protection, which includes tracking the elephants through the use of satellite collars to learn more about these little-understood creatures.

With a population of fewer than two thousand, China’s giant panda is in eighth place.

Its forest habitat in the mountainous areas of southwest China has become fragmented, creating small and isolated populations. Conservationists have been active in giant panda conservation for nearly three decades, by conducting field studies, working to protect habitats and, most recently, providing assistance to the Chinese government in establishing a program to protect the panda and its habitat through the creation of reserves.

The magnificent polar bear has ninth position with no more than 25,000 remaining in their native Arctic.

The greatest risk to their survival today is climate change. Designated a threatened species by the United States, if warming trends in the Arctic continue at the current pace, polar bears will be vulnerable to extinction within the next century.

Jonathan Wootliff is an independent sustainable development consultant specializing in the building of productive relationships between companies and NGOs. He can be contacted at jonathan@wootliff.com

Rhinoceroses are some of the most extraordinary creatures on the planet, and these large horned mammals with their thick armor-like skin are flagship species for conservation, since these animals represent a fast disappearing class of animals—the megafauna—which are often slow to reproduce, overexploited by humans, and the subject of human-wildlife conflicts as adequate habitat and wilderness lands continue to disappear.

People tend to associate the rhino with Africa. However, rhinos are found from India down through Southeast Asia, and some of the most endangered species of rhino are found outside of Africa (although all species of rhino are threatened with extinction).

The Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is threatened by poaching in addition to habitat degradation, loss, and fragmentation. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the Javan rhino as critically endangered, and the Red List justifies a critical status, because the population is severely fragmented: “This species is listed as Critically Endangered because there are less than 50 mature individuals; and because there fewer than 250 mature individuals, with no subpopulation greater than 50 individuals.” As a result, some populations of Javan rhinos “may be too small to be viable, and no breeding has been observed for many years, and it is possible that the animals are too old to breed.”

There were three subspecies of the Javan rhino: (1) Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus, which is restricted to the “westernmost extremity of the island of Java;” (2) Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis, which “formerly occurred in northeastern India, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, but is now extinct;” and (3) Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus is found only in Viet Nam. Curiously, the Red List notes that the Javan rhino may be restricted to or forced to live out an existence in less than ideal habitat, since the “species formerly occurred in more open mixed forest and grassland and on high mountains.” Captive breeding, reintroductions, and translocations are recommended for the long-term survival of this species. From Sky News:

Conservation groups say the Javan Rhino is now the most endangered mammal in the world because of its extremely low birthrate.

There are only 60 of the animals left in the wild, and nearly all of those live in an Indonesian National Park.

Christy Williams from the World Wildlife Fund says the park has reached its maximum capacity of rhinos.

He says “We need to take immediate, urgent action to try to move some of these rhinos to another suitable site, either on Java or Sumatra island.”

“If we don’t act quickly, I think we could lose this population.”

Out of the 50 Javan rhinos that live in Ujung Kulon National Park, only three of the females are breeding continuously.

Therefore only one Javan rhino is born every year, which is four times fewer than necessary to sustain a healthy, growing population.

Researchers say the small population of the species living in Vietnam are no longer breeding at all.

Camera traps capturing the Javan Rhinoceros

The World Wildlife Fund releases footage of a small family of Javan rhinos in the Ujung Kulon National Park

Javan rhino attacks camera

The first Javan Rhino image is by WWF, and it was found here. The second image is by Alain Compost, and it was found here. Browse more Javan rhino images here.

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New infra-red footage released on Thursday captures hitherto unseen images of elusive Javan rhinos, the most endangered mammal in the world with less than 60 individuals believed to remain alive. The grainy video was released by …[More..]

you have to watch this one — very interesting from MSNBC Tech March 5: Video shows Javan rhinos in the wild. With only 60 believed in existence, the Javan rhino is one of the most endangered animals. Msnbc.com’s Dara Brown reports. …[More..]
Jakarta – 34 video cameras will follow around the Javan rhinos wherever they go, in an attempt to find out more about the world’s most endangered large mammal and help to prevent the species from going extinct. With fewer than 60 Javan …[More..]

The Javan rhinoceros is the world’s rarest, and one of its two subspecies lives only in Java. There are only about 70 left in the wild. 90% live in Ujung Kulon National Park, where the World Wildlife Fund has set up motion-activated cameras to track their behavior.

I guess this one doesn’t appreciate being filmed! Toward the end of the clip, it mounts a startling attack on the camera.

For more information on efforts to save the Javan rhino from extinction, head here.