In 2021 these marine patrols covered more than 13,900 kilometers, encountered 235 instances of illegal activities, and documented evidence that was provided to the park authorities. Indonesia: In addition to existing land-based patrols, marine patrols were established to protect the coastline of Ujung Kulon National Park, home of the Javan rhino, from poachers and encroachers. In addition, the Javan rhino is threatened by poaching and habitat destruction and loss, primarily for agriculture and development.Įxamples of successful current and past projects include: The greatest threat to its survival is its small population size, and the inbreeding and loss of genetic diversity that this will bring about. Today, the Javan rhino is confined to a single population in Indonesia's Ujung Kulon National Park. With approximately 75 individuals left, the Javan rhino is believed to be the rarest large mammal on earth. Although their survival continues to be under threat from poaching and habitat loss, the decline in their population has slowed down, thanks to the efforts of dedicated anti-poaching teams known as Rhino Protection Units.
Today, there are fewer than 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild. Sumatran rhinos live in dense tropical forests across parts of Southeast Asia. In addition to the continued threat of poaching, harassment, encroachment, habitat destruction and loss, and conflicts between humans and rhinos still represent major threats to the one-horned rhino. This small population increase is mainly due to strict protections from Indian and Nepalese wildlife authorities. There has been some conservation success with the greater one-horned rhino, which now numbers around 3,700 individuals in South Asia. In Asia, the status of both rhinos and tigers is also bleak. Rhino poaching has also shifted from opportunistic poaching by locals to coordinated, targeted poaching and trafficking by international criminal networks.
However, since then, the poaching of rhinos for their horns has once again surged in Africa. By 2017, there were approximately 5,500 black rhinos and 18,000 white rhinos in Africa. Ambitious anti-poaching campaigns and reintroduction programs allowed population increases and reintroduction to sites where they had gone locally extinct. Black and white rhinos were hunted to precariously low numbers throughout Africa and were extinct in 15 African countries by the early 1960s and 1970s. By 1970, the global number dropped to 70,000. Asia is home to the greater one-horned rhino, which is classified as vulnerable, and the Javan and Sumatran rhinos, both of which are classified as critically endangered.Īt the beginning of the 20th century, approximately 500,000 rhinos roamed across Africa and Asia.
Africa is home to the black rhino and white rhino, which are classified by the IUCN Red List as critically endangered and near threatened, respectively. Unfortunately, these same qualities make these magnificent creatures popular targets: rhinoceros horn and tiger pelts and body parts are in high demand on the global black market.įive species of rhinos survive in Africa and Asia, but they are all under threat. Rhinos and tigers are big, powerful, and charismatic animals.
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