During colonial times, Javan rhinoceroses were killed by trophy hunters, but now, they’re relentlessly poached for their horns and meat as rhino horn can sell for $60,000/kg.
Javan rhinoceroses were killed across their range by trophy hunters during colonial times.
More recently, Javan rhinos have been relentlessly poached, like other rhino species, for their horns and meat. Poaching ultimately wiped out the species in Vietnam and remains an ever-present threat to the last rhinos in Java.
Eastern Asian medicine views rhino horns as an important, if not essential part, of medicine. 60% of Eastern Asian doctors stock rhino horn, with Asian horns being preferred over their African counterparts. In this part of the world, one kilogram of rhino horn sells for approximately $60,000.
The World Wildlife Fund for Nature (WWF) supports anti-poaching patrols in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park with its Wildlife Crime Initiative. The organization recommends consumers don’t purchase rhinoceros horn products as the illegal trade in rhinoceros horn continues to pose one of the greatest threats to the Javan rhinoceros today.
• Image | © Shadowind, All Rights Reserved
• Sources | (Foose & van Strien, 1997; IRF, 2011; van Strien, et al., 2008; Waters, 2000; WWF, 2015)
