Javan Rhino news

[dillotest0]

I did some more digging and found that Musofa had been identified as rhino number 56 back in 2013. Then in 2020 there was another news report about him. But the information in that article was a bit confusing, because it said he was “around 7 years old” in 2020.

If that were true, it would mean he was 0–1 years old in 2013, which doesn’t make sense, because at that age he wouldn’t have had any clear identifying features yet.

So I tried breaking it down into two possibilities:

1) If he was 7 years old in 2020 → then in 2025 he would be 12.
2) If he was 7 years old in 2013 → then in 2025 he would be 19.

But no matter which way you calculate it, once he died it turned out he was actually 45 years old — which is off by 20–30 years from the previous estimates.

Honestly, I think the method used to estimate the age of wild Javan rhinos really needs to be completely overhauled.

source : Rhino Named Musofa Caught On Camera Wallowing In Ujung Kulon National Park
Rhino Named Musofa Caught On Camera Wallowing In Ujung Kulon National Park (29 Juni 2020, 20:38)

In defence … we didn’t have much to go off from before his short time at the facility. What we had were observations obtained through camera traps, and particularly camera traps from the time were often prone to producing low detail results. This meant that such details as those of the face, horn, and teeth were likely obscured in such footage. But of course when you have the animal himself to work with, and better yet his deceased body at your disposal, you can easily conduct more thorough observations.

I do not claim to know how old exactly this rhino was at time of death. But I very much doubt that he was a calf in 2013, and I have my doubts about him being 7 in 2020. I question whether early estimates had something to do with the size of the horn observed. But on the whole, Javan rhinos grow small horns - occasionally none. 45, or something slightly younger, to me anyways seems like a likely number.

 

[Pertinax]

That is quite correct, in fact the name Subur meant the "futile one". It was planned to import a group of them at the time!

Yes, and out of seven caught, only one was a male and he escaped. Three of the six females were brought into captivity and the other three(?) released. They never trapped any more males to provide 'Subur' with a mate.

 

[Zorro]

Yes, and out of seven caught, only one was a male and he escaped. Three of the six females were brought into captivity and the other three(?) released. They never trapped any more males to provide 'Subur' with a mate.

There is actually a old book about it which I managed to buy online about the whole adventure!

 

[dillotest0]

In defence … we didn’t have much to go off from before his short time at the facility. What we had were observations obtained through camera traps, and particularly camera traps from the time were often prone to producing low detail results. This meant that such details as those of the face, horn, and teeth were likely obscured in such footage. But of course when you have the animal himself to work with, and better yet his deceased body at your disposal, you can easily conduct more thorough observations.

I do not claim to know how old exactly this rhino was at time of death. But I very much doubt that he was a calf in 2013, and I have my doubts about him being 7 in 2020. I question whether early estimates had something to do with the size of the horn observed. But on the whole, Javan rhinos grow small horns - occasionally none. 45, or something slightly younger, to me anyways seems like a likely number.

Another thing which gave me doubt as to the supposed youth of the rhino...

Here is an Indian rhinoceros...or two of them... but the adult in the picture is eleven years of age. If the male Javan Rhino was born in 2013 as supposed, they'd have a colouration not unlike this.
I can't find many images of 20 year old Indian rhinos online, but most healthy adult Indian rhinos look something like this. Unless affected by dirt, dust, or some other sediment, the hide is largely monotonous in colour.
And what does an Indian rhino in its fourties look like?

When this photograph was taken, this rhino was about 40 years of age...


And this rhino was about 45 when these images were taken. And what was something I noticed?
When the Indian rhino reaches an advanced age, areas of depigmentation seem more papparent, particularly around the cheeks, near the ears, on the belly and on the legs. Why this is prevalent more in older rhinos than younger ones? I am not sure. But it seems to be the case that this depigmentation happens more in older animals.

Like wise, the images I have seen of the recent male Javan do show him with very visible depigmentation in areas expected of depigmentation in the Indian rhino. So it does seem likely he was of an advanced age then. This colouration is not usual for a younger animal.

 

[FriendofPachyderms]

I'm just incredibly depressed now. Between this, the deaths from flooding in Sumatra, the Hong Kong fires, and the National Guardsmen shooting in D.C. this week, there's just been soo much bad news.

What do we think will be the next step? The IRF seems to want a pause on transportation, while the Indonesian rhino authorities appear to want to continue transportations.

Doesn't it seem like more transportations will need to be done regardless? Especially if Sumatran Rhinos are found at Way Kambas National Park, where potential dung has been found. The IRF seems to be hinting in their latest blog post that the dung could have been from a mother and a calf (due to the placements and sizes of dung piles). Wouldn't we want those Sumatrans to be transported to the Sumatran Sanctuary then? So, maybe we just need to learn from this last transportation and aftermath and continue transporting Javan Rhinos (and potentially Sumatrans from Way Kambas)?

 

[Kifaru Bwana]

I'm just incredibly depressed now. Between this, the deaths from flooding in Sumatra, the Hong Kong fires, and the National Guardsmen shooting in D.C. this week, there's just been soo much bad news.

What do we think will be the next step? The IRF seems to want a pause on transportation, while the Indonesian rhino authorities appear to want to continue transportations.

Doesn't it seem like more transportations will need to be done regardless? Especially if Sumatran Rhinos are found at Way Kambas National Park, where potential dung has been found. The IRF seems to be hinting in their latest blog post that the dung could have been from a mother and a calf (due to the placements and sizes of dung piles). Wouldn't we want those Sumatrans to be transported to the Sumatran Sanctuary then? So, maybe we just need to learn from this last transportation and aftermath and continue transporting Javan Rhinos (and potentially Sumatrans from Way Kambas)?

I personally tend towards the latter. The creation of the JRSC is a real milestone and game changer in the thinking around Jawan rhino conservation and acknowledges the real and present danger of stochastic events depleting the Jawan rhino population within the limited area of Taman Nasional Ujung Kulon alone.

IRF may want to stall on capture operations for Jawan rhino, but it is inevitable in the medium and long term. The issue of all eggs in one basket has been haunting the fortunes and sustainable recovery of the species anyway. Can the program afford any losses ..., frankly no ...., but I would like to know first how robust the evidence for the entire population at present is with the current monitoring regime (admittedly, it is a huge challenge and many camera traps are inside the full protection zone as well as the buffer area (from which I suspect the current individuals targetted for capture originate.

One the death of the old male Jawan rhino himself ..., and what transpired I will respond a little later.... It is now dead of night and I should be deep asleep....

 

[Zorro]

I personally tend towards the latter. The creation of the JRSC is a real milestone and game changer in the thinking around Jawan rhino conservation and acknowledges the real and present danger of stochastic events depleting the Jawan rhino population within the limited area of Taman Nasional Ujung Kulon alone.

IRF may want to stall on capture operations for Jawan rhino, but it is inevitable in the medium and long term. The issue of all eggs in one basket has been haunting the fortunes and sustainable recovery of the species anyway. Can the program afford any losses ..., frankly no ...., but I would like to know first how robust the evidence for the entire population at present is with the current monitoring regime (admittedly, it is a huge challenge and many camera traps are inside the full protection zone as well as the buffer area (from which I suspect the current individuals targetted for capture originate.

One the death of the old male Jawan rhino himself ..., and what transpired I will respond a little later.... It is now dead of night and I should be deep asleep....

They need to stop the poaching first, its midday here get some sheep rhino man

 

[JVM]

Although what happened was tragic, I'm hopeful for the future of this program. I think it is just a reality that when you capture an animal at advanced age and it passes, we cannot treat it as a failure of the program. I have doubts the park where the current population is kept can be secure so an insurance population is integral. The Indonesian rhinos are in worse danger than is commonly understood and it would be wonderful news if either species could be preserved.

 

[Zz123]

Now I think I can finally understand why…

- Why there was no news about the rhino translocation from major international outlets like CNN, BBC, or ABC, even though this should have been a global conservation headline.

- Why news of Musofa’s death only came out more than 20 days after he had already passed away.

- Why suddenly some reports claimed Musofa was 45 years old.

It’s likely because the operation did not go as planned, and Musofa died very quickly afterward. This meant that time was needed to prepare explanations for the inevitable questions, especially whether the capture itself played any role in his death. And this may also be why the claim of him being “45 years old” was introduced, to point toward old age rather than the capture process as the cause.
But I don’t blame anyone. I believe everyone involved truly had the best intentions and tried their very best. Before the capture they trained and prepared extensively. The people who must be the most heartbroken are probably the Indonesian authorities themselves, as they have invested so much effort into protecting the Javan rhino. Their dedication is clear from the fact that they have managed to keep the species surviving in the wild, while Javan rhinos on the mainland have gone extinct in India, Thailand, Vietnam, and other countries where they once lived.
I still hope the project to establish a second population will continue. Mistakes that happened this time can be used as lessons for improvement moving forward. I’m rooting for them, and I hope they succeed.

 

[Zorro]

Just so I am 100% clear this new captive "breeding centre" is located within the Ujung Kilo National Park ?

 

[Jambo]

Just so I am 100% clear this new captive "breeding centre" is located within the Ujung Kilo National Park ?

Yes, the facility in question is called the 'Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area' (JRSCA) in Ujung Kulon National Park.

 

[FriendofPachyderms]

I hope Indonesian authorities and the International Rhino Foundation can patch up their relationship, has anybody checked the comments sections under the last couple Instagram posts by the IRF? They had to turn off the comments for their latest post.

 

[Don Majeski]

I hope Indonesian authorities and the International Rhino Foundation can patch up their relationship, has anybody checked the comments sections under the last couple Instagram posts by the IRF? They had to turn off the comments for their latest post.

I must admit this announcement of the first captive Javan rhino in 118 years rates right up there , for me, with the revelation of the rediscovery of R.sondaicus Annamiticus twenty odd years ago.
Both ended in tragedy -BUT the fact that no effort was made for an ex situ captive propagation for Annamiticus should have served as a cautionary tale as relates to R. Sondaicus. The fact that this attempt was made at all is a wonderful thing.
And I hope that they will not be dissuaded from their goal
Of setting up a permanent ex situ breeding for R. Sondaicus - in Indonesia and abroad eventually.
I am
Of the understanding that there is already a female marked for the program. The deceased male past away from overt endo parasitism that drained its blood - and was 45 years of age.
A better medical examination would be advised for the next male and female.
I must admit that I never thought that I would live to see this in my lifetime - and lifetime that has witnessed the extinction of the Nile rhino as well as Ra.Annamiticus and the Yangtze River dolphin -with the Vaquita soon to follow.
I hope serves to motivate even more a captive breeding program
The same goes for a reboot of the ex situ Sumatran rhino consortium plan
That failed because tbe individual in the program were incapable , in most cases of breeding or were already diseased not from lack of care of the holders
This effort failed but it is well wortth sustaining - as are the rhinos

 

[Pertinax]

Like wise, the images I have seen of the recent male Javan do show him with very visible depigmentation in areas expected of depigmentation in the Indian rhino. So it does seem likely he was of an advanced age then. This colouration is not usual for a younger animal.

A very good piece of detective work I think and a very logical conclusion from your examples of a very closely-related species.

 

[Pertinax]

I must admit that I never thought that I would live to see this in my lifetime - and lifetime that has witnessed the extinction of the Nile rhino as well as Ra.Annamiticus and the Yangtze River dolphin -with the Vaquita soon to follow.
I hope serves to motivate even more a captive breeding program

That was my thought too. I really hope they proceed with this project and are not put off by the first hurdle they met with.

 

[FriendofPachyderms]

Recent press conference on the recent Javan Rhino transportation. Based off the auto-translated subtitles, seems like they'll be going ahead with more transportations. The delay in announcement of the death was for until the autopsy results could be given. Which was a good action, in my opinion. I think next time perhaps don't announce the rhino transportation until said rhino has been at the facility for over a month, healthy.