Javan Rhinoceros
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The Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is one of the rarest and most endangered large mammals anywhere in the world. According to 2002 estimates, only about 60 remain alive, in Indonesia and Vietnam. Even these tiny populations are still being poached and the outlook for the species is grim.
The Javan Rhinoceros occupied lowland rainforests through much of South-east Asia. It is grey in color, hairless, and adults typically weigh up to 1.4 tonnes. Like the closely related larger Indian Rhinoceros, it has only one horn, and in common with the almost equally endangered Sumatran Rhinoceros it is exclusively a browser on leaves rather than a grazer on grasses. Favoured feeding strategies include knocking down saplings to reach the leaves and shoots, and gathering fruit.
-->There are three subspecies:
- Indian Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis) (extinct)
- Vietnamese Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus) (Vietnam only 2 - 7 animals left)
- Indonesian Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus sondaicus) (Java 50 - 60 animals left)
See also
References
- Asian Rhino Specialist Group (1996). [Rhinoceros sondaicus]. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Listed as Critically Endangered (CR C2a v2.3)
External links
- [Datasheet] on Ujung Kulon National Park and Krakatau Nature Reserve from World Conservation Monitoring Centre (WCMC)
- ARKive - [images and movies of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus)]
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