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Rhino Species
Javan Rhino

about rhinos>>species >> Javan Rhino

The Rhino Family

White Rhino

Greater One Horned Rhino

Black Rhino

Javan Rhino

Sumatran Rhino

Current Numbers and Distribution

Current Range Countries:

• Indonesia

Today, there are ~50 Javan rhinos.

*Maps were created with information from IUCN’s Asian Rhino Specialist Group. For security reasons, specific rhino populations are not identified, approximate current distribution is indicated by the provinces or states in which rhinos reside.

Javan rhino

(Rhinoceros sondaicus)

Since the 2011 death of the last Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) in Vietnam, the species now only exists in one country, in one national park – Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP). Once ranging throughout southeast Asia, Javan rhinos have been hunted to near extinction with a single, small population remaining. UKNP has conducted intensive Javan rhino population monitoring since 1967, when the Park estimated that just 25 individuals remained. Since then, the population has been slowly increasing to an estimated high of 76 rhinos in 2022. Unfortunately, since July 2023, Indonesian authorities have been investigating and prosecuting Javan rhino poaching groups, who confessed to killing 26 rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park from 2019 to 2023.  In addition to the constant threat of poaching shared by all rhino species, the Javan rhino population in Ujung Kulon faces several unique threats. These include an unbalanced sex ratio of about two males for every one female, a lack of genetic diversity within the existing population and only having access to a single habitat which has neared its carrying capacity for rhinos and is located in an area prone to natural disasters.

IUCN Red List Status: Critically Endangered

Facts

Biology

  • The Javan Rhino is found only in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park in west Java.
  • Javan rhinos appear to be more adaptable feeders than other rhino species: in the tropical rain forest where the species now survives, it is a pure browser, but it possibly was a mixed feeder (both browse and grass) in other parts of its historic range. Biologists have identified more than 300 different species that comprise their diet.
  • Longevity is unknown, but Javan rhinos probably live to 30-40 years.
  • Gestation is unknown but is presumed to be approximately 15-16 months, as in other rhinos. Inter-birth intervals are unknown, but mothers probably give birth to one calf approximately every 2-3 years.
  • Javan rhinos are solitary in nature and are rarely seen.
  • Females do not appear to have prominent horns.

Common Names

Javan rhinoceros

Asian lesser one-horned rhinoceros because of the Javan’s smaller size.

Scientific Name and Origin

Rhinoceros sondaicus

“Rhinoceros” from the Greek “rhino”, meaning “nose” and “ceros”, meaning “horn” and “sondaicus” (Latin -icus indicates a locality) referring to the Sunda islands in Indonesia, “Sunda” meaning “Java”

Current Javan Rhino Numbers and Distribution

Currently there are an estimated 50 Javan rhinos surviving in just one country, Indonesia.

Physical Characteristics

SIZE Weight: 2,000 – 5,060 pounds (900 – 2,300 kg) Height: 5 – 5.5 feet (1.5 – 1.7 m) tall at the shoulder Length: 6 – 11.5 feet (2.0 – 4.0 m)

HORN Javan rhinos possess a single horn 10 in (25 cm) long, at least in males; females have a smaller or no horn.

Other Features

Gray, hairless, skin folds look like armor plates.

Photo Gallery

For decades, Javan rhino population estimates have hovered around 40-50 animals in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park. The most recent camera trap data show that there are ~75 rhinos in the park. Photo courtesy of Stephen Belcher.

The Javan rhino has the smallest horn of all five living species, the average measuring less than a foot in length, and only the adult males sport them. Photo by Stephen Belcher.

Indonesia’s remote Ujung Kulon National Park holds the only population of the Critically Endangered Javan rhino. With park staff, the IRF-funded Rhino Protection Units have kept this population safe from poaching. Photo by Alain Compost.

The Javan rhino is the rarest of the world’s five remaining rhino species, having lost most of its forest habitat over the last century, as well as having been hunted relentlessly for its horn, which only the males possess. Photo by Alain Compost.

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