Javan rhinos, among the rarest large mammals on Earth, once roamed from Northeast India to Southeast Asia. Despite tireless conservation efforts, these robust herbivores now stand on the precipice of extinction.
Accurately counting the remaining Javan rhinos is crucial for informed conservation decisions. However, the elusive nature of these creatures, combined with political complexities, complicates this vital task, and time is running out.
The Javan rhino is not the first rhino species to face extinction, nor would it be the first to make a recovery from near-disappearance. Experts estimate that over 100 rhino species once inhabited the Earth, with the majority of them now extinct.
More recently, the southern white rhino, a subspecies of the white rhino, was believed to be extinct in South Africa. However, around the end of the 19th century, a population of about 100 individuals was discovered.
Through well-coordinated conservation efforts, the white rhino made a remarkable recovery and is currently the only rhino species classified as “not threatened” in terms of population. Whether the Javan rhino can follow a similar path remains uncertain.
A Day in the Life of a Javan Rhinoceros Out of the five existing rhino species—two in Africa and three in Asia—only the Javan and greater one-horned rhinos possess a single horn. Unlike some other rhino species, Javan rhinos do not use their horns for combat.
