Background
The Javan (or lesser one-horned) rhino is on the brink of extinction. Fewer than 60 individuals are thought to survive in the wild, and there are none in captivity.
Human population pressures in the two protected areas where Javan rhinos are known to exist - Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia and Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam - are extremely high. Poaching is an ever-present threat. WWF is active in both Ujung Kulon and Cat Tien, but the battle for the survival of the Javan rhino is still a long way from being won.
The Javan rhino is a dusky grey colour and has a single horn, about 25 cm; the skin has a number of loose folds giving the appearance of armour plating. This species is very similar in appearance to the closely-related Indian rhinoceros, but is slightly smaller, with a much smaller head and the skin folds less apparent than in the Indian rhino. Recent evidence suggests that the horn may be absent or very small in females. The upper lip is pointed and can be used to grasp food and bring it to the mouth.
General information
Weight: 900 - 2,300 kg (2,000 – 5,060 lbs)
Height (at shoulder): 1,5 – 1,7 m (5 - 5,5 ft)
Length (head and body): 2 – 4 m (6 -11,5 ft)
Horn length: 0,25 m (10 in)
Lifespan: 30 to 45 years
Characteristics: has one horn and large skin fold, much like the Indian Rhino, but it is smaller.
Javan Rhino Behaviour
Javan Rhinos are very agile and quiet in their forest environment.
Javan Rhinos are very solitary except for the females when they have a calf. But may congregate at mud-wallows or salt-licks.
Javan Rhinos bulls have territories of 12-20 square kilometers in size. Females have smaller teritories (3-14 square kilometer)
They are very weary for humans, a valuable survival trait, and are therefore hard to study.
Javan Rhino Reproduction
Gestation period: 16 months.
Birth intervals per calf: 4 to 5 years.
Female sexual maturity: at 3 to 4 years
Male sexual maturity: at approximatly 6 years
Newborn weaned: at 2 years
Javan Rhino Distribution
Curent numbers in wild: 60
Curent numbers in captivity: none exist in captivity. In the past 200 years, only about 22 animals have ever lived in a zoo or menagerie.
Habitat: historically inhabited lowland rain forest, wet grasslands and large floodplain
Historic Natural Range: Inhabited much of Sumatra, Western Java, Malaysia, Myanmar, Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and there is one subfossil remnant from Borneo.
Current Range: In two locations, Ujung Kulon National Park, on the Western tip of Java and in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam (only 5 remaining).
Javan Rhino Diet
Javan Rhinos are browsers and feed on shoots, twigs, young foliage and fallen fruit.
Javan Rhinos in historic times might have been mixed feeders as their historic range is believed to have been lowland areas, along watercourses.
