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Report Says Rhino Poaching On the Rise Worldwide; Indonesian Species Under Threat
December 02, 2009

Video cameras are used to monitor and study the Javan rhinos in the 120,551-hectare Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java. (Photo: JG/WWF) Video cameras are used to monitor and study the Javan rhinos in the 120,551-hectare Ujung Kulon National Park in West Java. (Photo: JG/WWF)
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Rhino poaching is on the rise worldwide, including in Indonesia where the endangered Javan and Sumatran rhinos remains under threat, according to a report released on Wednesday by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and wildlife trade monitoring group Traffic.

The trade is being driven by Asian demand for horns and is made worse by increasingly sophisticated poachers, who now are using veterinary drugs, poison, cross bows and high caliber weapons to kill rhinos, the report stated.

Since 2006 the majority (95 percent) of the poaching in Africa has occurred in Zimbabwe and South Africa, according to new data. However, there is still concern about the security of endangered rhino populations in Asia, conservationists said.

“Sumatran and Javan rhino range countries need to increase efforts to better assess the current status of many of their rhino populations, to enhance field law enforcement efforts prevent further encroachment and land transformation in rhino areas and improve biological management of remaining rhinos to ensure the few remaining Sumatran and Javan Rhino numbers increase,” Dr. Bibhab Kumar Talukdar, chair of the IUCN Asian Rhino Specialist Group said in a statement.

The report stated that the Javan rhino was critically endangered and that worryingly, the population, estimated at between only 38 to 44 animals, was now in decline. The report recommended immediate action to establish a second population of the species in Indonesia.

While the number of Sumatran rhinos was listed as being stable by the report, it criticized a lack of government action on rhino conservation efforts and stated that the destruction of habitat and encroachment of national park boundaries by industry and palm oil plantations put the population at risk.

No firm data was available on incidence of Sumatran rhino poaching, but the report said there was an urgent need for clearer figures on the population of the species. It is estimated that there are between 140-200 Sumatran rhinos remaining in Indonesia.

According to the report, most rhino horns leaving southern Africa are destined for medicinal markets in southeast and east Asia, especially Vietnam, and also China.

JG