Last month, the 22nd, was World Rhino Day. The day brings recognition to the efforts to save Earth's two species of African rhinocerous and three Asian rhino species. All are endangered, none more so than the Sumatran (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis). Only eighty of these ancient beasts still live in the wild including seven that live in the rhinoceros sanctuary of Way Kambas National Park on Sumatra. The pandemic has slowed conservation plans. A new sanctuary on Sumatra has been delayed as has a plan put together by WWF to capture a wild Bornean female for breeding. Rhinos on Borneo (Kalimantan) have been separated for thousands of years and are now geneticallty distinct, so breeding the two will provide much need genetic diversity. Unfortunately conservation can be highly political: Indonesia abruptly cut ties to World Wildlife Fund--Indonesia. Experts generally agree that bringing in surviving rhinos in from the wild to participate in captive breeding is the best hope to save the critically endangered animal.
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Luther and mom courtesy Environment Ministry
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World Rhino Day was marked by the welcomed birth of two Javan rhino calves in the wild. Camera traps caught the two calves and their mothers on video. Helen and Luther were born in the last place on Earth this species
(Rhinoceros sondaicus) still exists, Ujung Kulon National Park, on the western tip of Java bringing the population to 74. Conservationists credit the births to stringent protection from poaching. There has been a recorded birth every year since 2012 according to the International Rhino Foundation. This population, the last on Earth, is growing, but vulnerable to natural disasters. The rhinos live in view of Anak Krakatau, the active volcano in the Sunda Straits. A 2018 eruption produced a tsunami that hit the park. Fortunately, the rhinos were inland when it struck, killing two park officials and about 400 other people along the coast. Although no rhino poaching has been reported in a while, illegal fishing is becoming a problem. A marine patrol launched in January 2020 has since apprehended 45 boats and 218 people illegally encroaching in the national park in the first six months of operations.
