Obviously, rhinos cannot fly, but you get the picture-rhinos can be very secretive and do not like to be around humans. So, if you went into the rainforest and tried to count all the Javan rhinos, you would most likely count zero! Other birds would be up in trees and you would never even know they were there. Some birds would be flying all over the place, and some would hide as soon as they saw you. So, scientists are on the case to solve this mystery! How Do You Count Rhinos?Ĭounting rhinos is hard work! Think of what would happen if you went into the woods and tried to count all of the birds around you. These people decided the best way to help would be to do scientific research to find out how many Javan rhinos are left, what they need, and where they like to spend their time. Many scientists, conservationists, and community members in Indonesia really care about saving the Javan rhino. In order to survive and thrive, Javan rhinos need lots of space to roam around in, plants to eat, and mud to bathe in. That is not very much space for a bunch of huge rhinos to live. The place that Javan rhinos live is called Ujung Kulon National Park and it is about the size of a large city-think of New York City or London. Figure 1 - Map of large area where Javan rhinos used to live vs.This loss of their habitat, in addition to human development and hunting, are the main reasons Javan rhinos are now only found in one spot in the world ( Figure 1). But the rainforests they need are disappearing. Unlike its rhino cousins in Africa that live in the dry deserts, the Javan rhino needs rainforests. In other words, they used to roam an area that was quite large-about the size of Europe. Javan rhinos used to live all throughout Northeast India and Southeast Asia. Perhaps most mysterious though is that the Javan rhino population is disappearing and we are not sure what to do about it. But they are secretive animals-so scientists have a really hard time finding them, despite their large size. They are really big-somewhere between 4.5 and 5.8 feet tall, and they weigh between 2,000 and 5,000 pounds (that is about the size and weight of a Volkswagon beetle!). They only live in one teeny spot on the island of Java (Indonesia) and are critically endangered. Javan rhinos are interesting and mysterious creatures.
Now that the scientist-detectives have a solid estimate about the size of the population, the different ages and sexes of the rhinos, and where they like to hang out, we can come up with a plan to help them recover! What Is Special About Javan Rhinos? Based on the clues they got, they estimated that there are 62 rhinos in the park. The scientist-detectives ended up getting 1,660 video clips of Javan rhinos from these cameras. A few scientists put on their detective thinking caps and came up with the idea of using “camera traps” to count rhinos. This loss of their habitat, in addition to human development and hunting, are the main reasons they are now only in one spot in the world. But, the rainforests they need are disappearing. These rhinos used to live all throughout Northeast India and Southeast Asia. Javan Rhinos are interesting and mysterious creatures.
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