Geneva, Switzerland (GenevaLunch) – Gland-based WWF‘s Indonesian arm announced Monday that an “almost extinct species” has been caught on camera. The Javan rhinos “are breeding in Ujung Kulon,” says Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF in the US.
The video was released 28 February by WWF-Indonesia and Indonesia’s National Park Authority.
The footage was taken by a motion-activated video camera at the Ujung Kulon National Park.
It is “a huge boost to efforts to save this almost extinct species that is threatened by poaching, disease, and the possibility of a tsunami or volcanic eruption,” WWF-Indonesia notes in a written statement.
The Javan rhino may be one of the rarest mammals on the planet according to the WWF, with as few as 40 left. Once numerous throughout Southeast Asia, its population is now likely isolated to Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia.
Video of two families of Javan rhinos
To donate to their cause you can visit: www.javanrhinohope.org
African elephants, from a painting by Gail Van Lingen
Gland, Switzerland and Harare, Zimbabwe (GenevaLunch) – Evidence appears to be growing that poaching is on the rise in Zimbabwe and that international gangs are working with local poachers, based on converging reports from several sources. The increased poaching affects elephants and rhinos. Several species of both are on the protected species lists published by Gland-based IUCN (International Union for the Conservation of Nature).
The government-run The Herald newspaper in Harare reported 3 November that at least 200 rhinos have been poached in the past three years, “as locals increasingly network with international syndicates in the illegal trade of the horns, the Parliamentary Portfolio Committee on Natural Resources, Environment and Tourism” was told by parks officials 2 November. Reporters were asked to leave the room when statistics were given for the current population. The Herald estimates the populations for white and black rhinos to be 500 and 300 respectively.
