NGO raise concerns about official Javan rhino census

This has also been reported for other charismatic Indonesian fauna such as elephants and orangutans. So I can't say I'm surprised.

But the fact that the Indonesian government has been able to bullcrap us all into thinking Javan rhinos have been increasing should remind us of the scary truth: That we humans, despite having the highest level of intelligence, are very easy to fool.

The reason for them doing this comes down to special interests that threaten wildlife. When you control the research on animal population estimates you can bullcrap people into thinking endangered species are recovering so you can keep catering to the special interests that threaten wildlife.
 
Pantheraman said:
This has also been reported for other charismatic Indonesian fauna such as elephants and orangutans. So I can't say I'm surprised.

But the fact that the Indonesian government has been able to bullcrap us all into thinking Javan rhinos have been increasing should remind us of the scary truth: That we humans, despite having the highest level of intelligence, are very easy to fool.

The reason for them doing this comes down to special interests that threaten wildlife. When you control the research on animal population estimates you can bullcrap people into thinking endangered species are recovering so you can keep catering to the special interests that threaten wildlife.
Click to expand...

I couldn't agree with your assessment more!
 
One thing that worries me in regards to the rhinoceros in particular, is that the National Park where all the rhinos are located sometimes is negatively effected by environmental factors. It sometimes experiences volcanic attacks, tsunamis, earthquakes ...
I seriously hope the Indonesian government has some kind of plan in place to safeguard the rhinos from such things.
 
dillotest0 said:
One thing that worries me in regards to the rhinoceros in particular, is that the National Park where all the rhinos are located sometimes is negatively effected by environmental factors. It sometimes experiences volcanic attacks, tsunamis, earthquakes ...
I seriously hope the Indonesian government has some kind of plan in place to safeguard the rhinos from such things.
Click to expand...
One must bear in mind that indeed the last Javan rhinos are restricted to a single protected area, that reaches probably its carrying capacities for the species.
So even if the population of this species is increasing for now, no one can argue that the species is really saved from extinction.
I think that even in the best hypothesis, involving a continuous conservation action and very probably some reintroductions in other places, it will take decades to downgrade the status of this rhino to the mere EN category.
 
A recent study has found that 13 of the surviving Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon have congenital defects that have probably arisen from inbreeding in the animals.

The study does include some recommendations for their conservation - one is to clear areas of large trees in the forest, to allow the growth of fresh saplings which serve as the principal food of the rhinos. Part of this may involve transferring out some of the park's banteng, which compete with the rhinos for food.

The other recommendation is to create a captive breeding facility for the species, which will allow greater genetic control over the animals and also allow more detailed information to be collected about the animals - it is noted that, although the Sumatran rhinoceros is the rarer species, more is known about it than the Javan simply because there has been a long-term breeding programme in captivity.

More information can be read in the link below:
To help beleaguered Javan rhinos, study calls for tree felling, captive breeding

The scientific paper linked to this article can be seen here:
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/GAZELLA_49_2023_09_NOSOROZCI.pdf
 
DesertRhino150 said:
The study does include some recommendations for their conservation - one is to clear areas of large trees in the forest, to allow the growth of fresh saplings which serve as the principal food of the rhinos. Part of this may involve transferring out some of the park's banteng, which compete with the rhinos for food.

The other recommendation is to create a captive breeding facility for the species, which will allow greater genetic control over the animals and also allow more detailed information to be collected about the animals - it is noted that, although the Sumatran rhinoceros is the rarer species, more is known about it than the Javan simply because there has been a long-term breeding programme in captivity.
Click to expand...

Recommendations which were first made way back in the mid-1980s, as shown by some of the articles I've recently come across within my back catalogue of International Zoo News ;):rolleyes: along with the recommendation that a second wild population should be created via the translocation of individuals, in order to allow the overall population to exceed the carrying capacity of Ujung Kulon.

When I'm back home tomorrow - visiting Helly's family right now - I'll root out the relevant articles and post them to this thread for any interested parties.

DesertRhino150 said:
The scientific paper linked to this article can be seen here:
file:///C:/Users/Owner/Downloads/GAZELLA_49_2023_09_NOSOROZCI.pdf
Click to expand...

We can't access your personal hard drive :P
 
TeaLovingDave said:
Recommendations which were first made way back in the mid-1980s, as shown by some of the articles I've recently come across within my back catalogue of International Zoo News ;):rolleyes: along with the recommendation that a second wild population should be created via the translocation of individuals, in order to allow the overall population to exceed the carrying capacity of Ujung Kulon.
Click to expand...

I seem to remember reading similar as far back as the 1960's though I can't give you a reliable source...
 
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