RELOCATION PLANS FOR JAVAN RHINOS

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Plan in place to save the world's rarest mammal

 

Sebastien Blanc | Jakarta, Indonesia

 

 

 

14 March 2006 11:59

 

The Javan rhinoceros is the rarest mammal in the world; just 50 of the

one-horned beasts remain alive, almost all in a single Indonesian

jungle. Now, to save them, scientists are preparing to divide them.

 

Dozens of ecological experts met recently in Jakarta to agree on the

old adage that you should not lay all your eggs in one basket.

 

Besides five of the one-horned beasts located in Vietnam, all of the

surviving Javan rhinoceros roam in the Ujung Kulon park at the far

western end of the densely-populated island and on the fringes of the

Sunda Strait.

 

This reserve is better protected than other disappearing Indonesian

forests, but experts still fear that a local event could wipe out the

species: an epidemic, a massive raid by poachers or a natural

catastrophe -- the park was affected by the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa

nearby -- could all lead to disaster.

 

" Imagine if the tsunami had come through Ujung Kulon! " exclaimed

Christy Williams, programme co-ordinator for the World Wildlife Fund's

(WWF) Asian Rhino and Elephant Action Strategy, adding that protection

alone was not enough to ensure their survival.

 

" It's necessary to create other pockets of safety for the animals, " he said.

 

The magnificent Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) was once found

across a huge swathe of Asia, from the north of India, through

Myanmar, Thailand, Vietnam, peninsular Malaysia and into Indonesia.

The species gradually grew rarer as its natural habitat was gnawed

away by development.

 

The aim of the scientists is to move adults from Ujung Kulon to other

forests in South-east Asia, perhaps on the Indonesian island of

Sumatra.

 

Like the reintroduction of wolves to the Alps or bears to the

Pyrenees, the removal of the Javan rhinoceros cannot be done without

enormous preparation. The operation is described by those involved as

" extremely complex " .

 

" We do not have any experience at all in translocating wild Javan

rhino, " explained Adi Susmianto, who heads the government's

directorate of biodiversity conservation.

 

" If there is not good preparation, failure will occur, " he warned,

emphasising the need to find a " safe " site, where encroachment and

illegal logging -- both rampant in Indonesia -- are least likely to be

a threat.

 

" If the local people still depend on the forest or still do

traditional hunting, forget about it, " he said.

 

The Javan rhinoceros is threatened for the very virtue that makes it

distinct: unlike its two-horned Sumatran cousin, it possesses a single

curving horn, which is highly prized by poachers.

 

" People believe the rhino gives humans strength, that it can be used

as an aphrodisiac, that it can cure skin diseases or tuberculosis.

They even smoke the dung, " said Widodo Ramono, director of The Nature

Conservancy's Indonesian programme.

 

Capturing the rhinos, which move deeply in dense jungle, is likely to

be a challenge in itself, with few access roads and the possibility of

one of them being injured.

 

Determining how many males and females to select to ensure the

survival of those being moved -- and those staying behind -- is

another challenge.

 

" We do not want to relocate a rhino which is not fertile. That is why

we need to do research beforehand, " said the WWF's Desmarita Murni.

 

Several more years of meticulous research will be needed before the

actual transplant of the rhinos will occur.

 

But the scientists are optimistic: the WWF's Williams points to the

successful transfers of Indian rhinos from Kaziranga national park to

the north-east of India to Dudhwa park in the north west. -- AFP