One of the 5 rhinoceroses on WAnimals
Mammals · Perissodactyla · Rhinocerotidae
Javan Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros sondaicus
It faces an extremely high risk of imminent extinction in the wild. See full glossary
The Javan rhinoceros is an endangered species belonging to the family Rhinocerotidae and one of the five living rhinoceros species. It belongs to the same genus as the Indian rhinoceros and shares many features with it. It differs mainly in size, in its less developed skin plates, and in differences of skull and teeth. Its horns are the smallest of any rhinoceros species and can often be absent in females.
Weight
900 kg – 2.3 t
Size
3 m – 3.2 m
Lifespan
40 years
Diet
Herbivore
Feeds mainly on plants.
Activity
Irregular activity
Active at irregular times, by day or night depending on circumstances.
Social structure
Solitary
Lives and hunts alone, joining others only to breed.
Sighting difficulty
Very hard
Estimated population
Around 75 individuals, all in Ujung Kulon National Park
Fun facts
- GeneralOne of the rarest large mammals in the world: fewer than 80 animals, in a single population.
- conservaciónIt is the most threatened rhinoceros in the world, with a wild population estimated at only a few dozen, all of them confined to a single national park in Indonesia.
- The whole species lives on a single peninsula of about 400 square kilometres, with not one individual in captivity anywhere in the world: a tsunami or a disease outbreak could finish it off within weeks.
- The Vietnamese subspecies became extinct in 2010, when rangers found the last Javan rhinoceros on mainland Asia shot dead.
Life cycle & biology
- Skeleton type
- Vertebrate - internal bony skeleton (mammal)
- Habitat & environment
- Lowland rainforest with wallows and dense secondary growth, in western Java
- Sexual maturity
- 3.5 years
- Gestation / incubation
- 16.5 months
- Litter / clutch size
- 1
Sources consulted: https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros_sondaicus
Where to watch it
Parks and dive sites where this species has been documented.
Related species
Other species in the catalogue with the most in common with Javan Rhinoceros — same habitat, park, country, tags or family.
Sumatran Rhinoceros
Dicerorhinus sumatrensis
Sunda Pangolin
Manis javanica
Short-tailed Gymnure
Hylomys suillus
Greater Slow Loris
Nycticebus coucang
Atlas Moth
Attacus atlas
Common Palm Civet
Paradoxurus hermaphroditus
How to help
The javan rhinoceros is classified as critically endangered. Organizations such as UICN, WWF y Wildlife Conservation Society work specifically on its conservation and that of its habitat; looking into their programs is a good starting point if you want to get involved.
It's documented in 1 real protected area — part of why protecting these places matters for its conservation.
Keep exploring
Based on what we already know about javan rhinoceros.
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