Javan Rhino and Javan Eagle
The populations of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and the Javan eagle (Nisaetus bartelsi) have both increased after the birth of two young Javan rhinoceros in Ujung Kulon National Park and the hatching of Javan eagle eggs in the Taman Nasional Indonesia Indah recently.
According to an official statement from the Environment and Forestry Ministry in Jakarta, two Javan rhino cubs were seen on camera in the Ujung Kulon Peninsula area, Ujung Kulon National Park. The park is at the westernmost part of Java, with the sightings of the first Javan rhino cubs born this year, in March 2021.
The female Javan rhino calf was born to a mother named Ambu, who previously gave birth to another calf in 2017. Meanwhile, a male Javan rhino cub, whose age is estimated to be one year old, started getting spotted by cameras in March 2021 with its mother, named Palasari.
The Ministry also stated that the birth of Javan rhino calves in Ujung Kulon National Park shows the success of the policy to protect the habitat in the national park area. The number of Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon National Park up to May 2021 was recorded at 73 individuals, consisting of 40 male and 33 female Javan rhinos.
Furthermore, on the 29th May 2021, the Indonesian Indah Miniature Park Bird Park Conservation Institute succeeded in incubating one Javan eagle egg.
The mother of the Javan eagle started laying eggs in 2014. Hatching efforts were carried out from 2014 to 2020 through a natural incubation process by the mother, but sadly to no avail.
During the 23-day incubation process on 6-29th May, one egg hatched into a Javan eagle chick weighing 53 grams. On 11th June, the Javan eagle cub was 14-days-old and in good health.
The Javan eagle and Javan rhinoceros are endangered species that are included in the list of 25 species with top priority for conservation in the Environment and Forestry Ministry.
Both animals are protected according to government regulation no. 7 of 1999 and regulation of the Environment and Forestry Minister number 106 of 2018.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) classifies the Javan rhinoceros as critically endangered and the Javan eagle as endangered.
The Director-General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation of the Environment and Forestry Ministry, Wiratno, stated that the births of the Javan rhinos and the Javan eagle show the government’s serious efforts in preserving Indonesia’s endemic animals.