Ujung Kulon National Park, Indonesia Releases New Photos and Video of Critically Endangered Species Seldom Seen in the Wild

For immediate release

November 19, 2018

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Caption: A Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)—a species seen in the wild only a handful of times—wallows in mud in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park. A team from Global Wildlife Conservation and WWF-Indonesia, with permission from the national park, captured this rare photo, along with additional images and video, which are among the first to show the species wallowing. The Javan rhino is a critically endangered species with a population of just 68 individuals, all confined to the national park in West Java. Javan rhinos are solitary and rare animals that live in thick forests, making them much more difficult to find in the wild than their African counterparts, the white and black rhinos, which live in open grasslands and savannas. Javan rhinos once lived in parts of India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Thailand, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, Indonesia and southern China. The last Vietnamese Javan rhino was found poached in 2010 during a joint WWF and National Park study, and is now recognized as extinct in Vietnam. Hunters have targeted the species across its range for centuries as its horn is prized in traditional medicine, and its lowland habitat has been cleared for rice fields across its distribution. (Photo by Robin Moore/Global Wildlife Conservation, Video by WWF-Indonesia/David Hermanjaya)

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Global Wildlife Conservation

GWC conserves the diversity of life on Earth by safeguarding wildlands, protecting wildlife and supporting guardians. We maximize our impact through scientific research, biodiversity exploration, habitat conservation, protected area management, wildlife crime prevention, endangered species recovery, and conservation leadership cultivation. Learn more at http://globalwildlife.org

WWF-Indonesia

WWF-Indonesia is a non-profit organization founded on 1961. WWF is working on 31 regional offices in 17 provinces throughout Indonesia, collaborating and partnering with society, NGO, media, business, banking, universities, as well as central and local governments. WWF mission is to conserve, restore and managing ecosystem and biodiversity in Indonesia in fair and sustainable. One of the activities is through advocacy and influencing policy, law and relevant institutions to support better environment governance. For more information, visit our website www.wwf.or.id

Ujung Kulon National Park

Ujung Kulon National Park area is declared as a protected area based on Law No.5/1990 on Natural Resource Conservation and Ecosystem, and Law No.41/1999 of Forestry. Ujung Kulon National Park has 122,956 hectares management area, consisting of 78,619 hectares of terrestrial and 44,337 hectares of marine. The National Park of Ujung Kulon is managed by the Technical Implementation Unit (UPT) of the Directorate General of Nature Conservation and Ecosystem (KSDAE), Ministry of Forestry and Environment Republic of Indonesia. The Ujung Kulon National Park office located in Labuan subdistrict, Pandeglang District, Banten Province, Indonesia.

Contact

Lindsay Renick Mayer

Global Wildlife Conservation

lrenickmayer@globalwildlife.org

512-686-6225

Lianne Mason

WWF International

lmason@wwfint.org

+61591002437

Diah R. Sulistiowati

WWF-Indonesia

dsulistiowati@wwf.id