Javan RhinocerosThe Javan rhino is the rarest of the rhino species with fewer than 60 animals surviving in only two known locations: one in Indonesia and the other in Vietnam. Rhinos have been poached from these small populations in recent years and much more intensive protection is needed if this species is to survive. The Javan and the Sumatran compete for the dubious distinction of being the most endangered species of rhino.
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Common and Scientific Names
SCIENTIFIC NAME:Rhinoceros sondaicus (Rhinoceros: from the Greek rhino, meaning "nose" and ceros, meaning "horn" sondaicus: referring to the Sunda islands in Indonesia. (Latin -icus indicates a locality); "Sunda" means "Java") COMMON NAME: Javan rhinoceros, or the Asian lesser one-horned rhinoceros: in contrast to the greater one-horned rhino because of the single, comparatively smaller horn |
Physical Description and Habitat
Javan rhinos are gray and hairless, with one short horn. Weighing in at 2,00 to 3,000 pounds and at five to five and a half feet, they Javan rhinos are smaller than their Indian colleauges. |
Numbers and Distribution
While traditionally located in Malaya, Burma, Thailand, Indochina, Java, Sumatra, and Northern India, the javan rhinos now are a numbered few. here are the current numbers and location: 40 to 60 in the Ujung Kulon National Park on the island of Java in Indonesia, 5 to 8 in the Cat Loc Nature Reserve in Vietnam, and none in captivity. |
