Indonesia’s Rhino’s

Liam HammerDepartment of ScienceGlobal Jaya International School Liam Hammer

M.Sci.Department of ScienceGlobal Jaya Int’l School

BB Question #1 – What levels of taxonomy are the Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) and Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)?

A. They are subspecies of the Rhinoceros speciesB. They are both cousins of each otherC. They are both members of the same genusD. They are probably both members of the same family

*Remember the rules of binomial classification

Rhinocerotidae

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros unicornis

(Indian Rhino)

Rhinoceros sondaicus

(Javan Rhino)

Dicerorhinus

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

(Sumatran Rhino)

Sumatran RhinocerosThe Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It is the only extant species of the genus Dicerorhinus. Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the nasal horn, typically 15–25 centimetres while the other horn is typically a stub. A coat of reddish-brown hair covers most of the Sumatran Rhino's body.

Members of the species once inhabited rainforests, swamps and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, and China.

The species is much better studied than the similarly reclusive Javan Rhinoceros, in part because of a program that brought 40 Sumatran Rhinos into captivity with the goal of preserving the species. The program was considered a disaster even by its initiator; most of the rhinos died and no offspring were produced for nearly 20 years, representing an even worse population decline than in the wild.

Javan RhinocerosThe Javan rhinoceros or lesser one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses. It belongs to the same genus as the Indian rhinoceros, and has similar mosaic skin which resembles armor, but at 3.1–3.2 m in length and 1.4–1.7 m in height, it is smaller. Its horn is usually less than 25 cm (10 inches), smaller than those of the other rhino species.

It historically inhabited lowland rain forest, wet grasslands and large floodplains. The Javan rhino is mostly solitary, except for courtship and child-rearing, though groups may occasionally congregate near wallows and salt licks.

Aside from humans, adults have no predators in their range.

In March 2011 Aspinall Foundation, a UK-based NGO that focuses on large mammal protection, published this rare footage of an adult and juvenile

Javan Rhino. Aspinall's video captured the rhinos in two different locations within Ujung Kulon National Park,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ux5dhPxGhZE

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List

http://www.iucnredlist.org/technical-documents/categories-and-criteria/2001-categories-criteria#categories

IV. THE CATEGORIESEXTINCT (EX) A taxon is Extinct when there is no reasonable doubt that the last individual has died. A taxon is presumed Extinct when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual. Surveys should be over a time frame appropriate to the taxon's life cycle and life form.EXTINCT IN THE WILD (EW) A taxon is Extinct in the Wild when it is known only to survive in cultivation, in captivity or as a naturalized population (or populations) well outside the past range. A taxon is presumed Extinct in the Wild when exhaustive surveys in known and/or expected habitat, at appropriate times (diurnal, seasonal, annual), throughout its historic range have failed to record an individual.

CRITICALLY ENDANGERED (CR) A taxon is Critically Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Critically Endangered (see Section V), and it is therefore considered to be facing an extremely high risk of extinction in the wild.ENDANGERED (EN) A taxon is Endangered when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Endangered (see Section V), and it is therefore considered to be facing a very high risk of extinction in the wild.VULNERABLE (VU) A taxon is Vulnerable when the best available evidence indicates that it meets any of the criteria A to E for Vulnerable (see Section V), and it is therefore considered to be facing a high risk of extinction in the wild. NEAR THREATENED (NT) A taxon is Near Threatened when it has been evaluated against the criteria but does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered or Vulnerable now, but is close to qualifying for or is likely to qualify for a threatened category in the near future.LEAST CONCERN (LC) A taxon is Least Concern when it has been evaluated against the criteria and does not qualify for Critically Endangered, Endangered, Vulnerable or Near Threatened. Widespread and abundant taxa are included in this category.

DATA DEFICIENT (DD) A taxon is Data Deficient when there is inadequate information to make a direct, or indirect, assessment of its risk of extinction based on its distribution and/or population status. A taxon in this category may be well studied, and its biology well known, but appropriate data on abundance and/or distribution are lacking. Data Deficient is therefore not a category of threat. Listing of taxa in this category indicates that more information is required and acknowledges the possibility that future research will show that threatened classification is appropriate. NOT EVALUATED (NE) A taxon is Not Evaluated when it is has not yet been evaluated against the criteria.

Criteria for Threatened Species

Population trait Vulnerable Endangered Critical

Observed decline 20% in 10 yrsor 3 generations

50% in 10 yrsor 3 generations

80% in 10 yrsor 3 generations

Geographical range

< 20 000 km2

< 10 locations< 5000 km2

< 5 locations< 100 km2

single location

Total populationN = population size

Ns = subpopulation sizes

N < 10 000Ns < 1000

N < 2500Ns < 250

N < 250Ns < 50

Projecteddecline

> 20% in 10 yrsor 3 generations

> 20% in 5 yrsor 2 generations

> 25% in 3 yrsor 1 generation

Probabilityof extinction

> 10% in 100 yrs> 20% in 20 yrsor 5 generations

> 50% in 10 yrsor 3 generations

BB question #2 -Study the categories of endangered animals and then decided which levels the Sumatran

Rhino and Javan Rhino belong.

A. Both are critically endangeredB. The Sumatran Rhino is endangered and the Javan

Rhino is critically endangeredC. Both are endangeredD. Javan Rhino is extinct from the wild and the

Sumatran Rhino is critically endangeredE. Other options

• The Javan Rhino species is critically endangered, with only one known population in the wild, and no individuals in captivity.

Answer BB question #2 = A

both are critically endangered, in fact, the Javan Rhino is possibly the most endangered mammal on earth.

Rhino Poached to Extinction in Vietnam: WWF October 25, 2011

A critically endangered species of rhino has been poached to extinction in Vietnam, wildlife groups said on Tuesday after the country’s last Javan rhino was found dead with its horn hacked off.

The Javan rhinoceros was pronounced extinct in Vietnam by WWF and the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) after all dung samples in a 2009 and 2010 survey at Cat Tien National Park — the only known habitat — were confirmed to have been from the animal.

“The last Javan rhino in Vietnam has gone,” said Tran Thi Minh Hien, WWF Vietnam country director. “Vietnam has lost part of its natural heritage.”

In a new report, WWF suggests poaching was the likely cause of death for the rhino, which was found in April 2010 with a bullet in its leg and its horn removed in the national park in southern Vietnam, around 160 kilometers from Ho Chi Minh City.

The group said “ineffective protection by the park was ultimately the cause of the extinction” and warned that illegal hunting to supply the wildlife trade threatened the futures of other rare animals in the country.

http://www.thejakartaglobe.com/international/rhino-poached-to-extinction-in-vietnam-wwf/473891

BB #3 – Is this article bad news for the Javan Rhino?

A. YesB. NoC. Depends

The Ecology of Java and Bali 1996 tells us that this is not a problem because the males roam much more than the females in order to make and protect their terroritory, so that only the males are caught on camera.

BB #4 – how do we study these animals?

A. Capture, Mark, Release and RecaptureB. Visual Surveys & TransectsC. Camera traps and fecal samplesD. Ex situ – study these animals in zoos and

wildlife parks.

• Scientists and conservationists rarely study the animals directly due to their extreme rarity and the danger of interfering with such an endangered species. Researchers rely on camera traps and fecal samples to gauge health and behavior.

In captivity• A Javan rhinoceros has not been exhibited

in zoos in a century. In the 19th century, at least four rhinos were exhibited in Adelaide, Calcutta and London. A total of at least 22 Javan rhinos have been documented as having been kept in captivity, and it is possible that the number is greater as the species was sometimes confused with the Indian rhinoceros.

• The Javan rhinoceros never fared well in captivity. The oldest lived to be 20, about half the age the rhinos will reach in the wild. The last captive Javan rhino died at the Adelaide Zoo in Australia in 1907 where the species was so little known that it had been exhibited as an Indian rhinoceros

For Sale….

A painting from 1861 depicts the hunting of R. s. sondaicus

Good news – sort of

Two adult rhinos with their calves were filmed in a motion-triggered video released on February 28, 2011 by WWF and Indonesia's National Park Authority, which proved that it is still breeding in the wild.https://www.youtube.com/watch?NR=1&feature=endscreen&v=3MhB4coUrYA https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=fvwp&NR=1&v=QTELuPmncGM 2009

Where to now ?

• Is it worth the money ?• Are there better things to spend our money on

?• Save Ujung Kulon, save the Rhino ?