Javan Rhino Facts
General Facts | |
Scientific Name: | Rhinoceros sondaicus |
Sub Species | |
Indonesian Javan Rhino: | Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus |
Vietnamese Javan Rhino (extinct since 2011): | Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus |
Average Weight: | 900 to 2,300kg |
Height at Shoulder: | 1.5 to 1.7 meters (5 to 5.5 ft) |
Length (head & body): | 2 to 4 meters (6 to 11.5 ft) |
Horn Length: | 25cm |
Lifespan: | 30 to 45 years |
Speed: | Up to 48km per hour (30mph) |
Social Behaviour: | Solitary |
IUCN conservation status: | Critically Endangered |
Reproduction | |
Gestation: | 16 months |
Birth intervals per calf: | 2 to 3 years |
Female sexual maturity: | 4 to 5 years |
Male sexual maturity: | 6 years |
Calves weaned: | 2 years |
Distribution | |
Range: | Indonesia |
Wild population: | ~50 |
About the Javan Rhino
The javan rhino (scientific name: Rhinoceros sundaicus) is one of the three rhino species found in Asia, they are the most endangered of all the five species of rhino. On 16th August 2021 Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry announced the birth of two more rhino calves bringing the total to as few as 76 surviving in the wild. However, since then the Indonesian Authorities reported the poaching of 26 javan rhinos bringing the estimated number of individuals in the wild to 50. Extinction for the javan rhino is a very real possibility.
Protection of the last remaining population at Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia is having a good degree of success with no poaching incidents reported since 2005. Javan rhinos possess a single horn 10 in (25 cm) long, at least in males; females have a smaller or no horn.
The javan rhino spends large periods of the day wallowing in water holes and mud baths. Their long upper lip is very distinctive and allows the javan rhino to browse on trees, twigs and leaves, although they do also graze on open grassland too.