The sighting of a juvenile Javan rhinoceros, between three and five months old but whose sex is still unknown, has restored hope to Indonesian authorities for the conservation of one of the most endangered mammals in the world. The animal was seen last month in images from one of the 126 cameras hidden in the Ujung Kulon National Park on the island of Java, west of the Indonesian capital (Jakarta), while walking with its mother through the natural environment.
The baby rhino strolled peacefully through the 120,000-hectare national park of rainforest and canals, located in the southwestern corner of Java, the last natural habitat of this endemic and critically endangered rhinoceros according to UNESCO.
The sighting of such a young specimen restores hope to the country's authorities and to the organizations that work for the conservation of this animal, of which there are hardly any specimens left worldwide.
"Praise God, this is good news that shows that Javan rhinos, which only exist in Ujung Kulon, can reproduce properly," Satyawan Pudyatmoko, a senior official at Indonesia's Environment Ministry, explained in a press release.
Indonesian authorities estimate that its population is currently 82 individuals after years of decline. They once numbered in the thousands across Southeast Asia, but have been hit hard by rampant poaching and human encroachment on their habitat.
Javan rhinos, belonging to the Rhinocerotidae family and one of five species of recent rhinoceroses, are characterized by folds of loose skin that give their shell the appearance of armor.
