I recently read an article where the last Malaysian Sumatra Rhino died. That was truly disheartening. Although I didn't see one, it was one of the reasons I traveled to Malaysian Borneo 12 years ago. The Sumatran Rhino now depends on Indonesia to survive. There are only about 80 left in the would. When I was a kid (according to my son, when the dinosaurs lived) there were 300 in the world. There is still hope for them as in one rhino sanctuary there is evidence of calves being born.

However, that is not what I want to talk about today. I want to talk about is their smaller cousins, the Javen Rhino. When I was a kid - again, back in dinosaur times - there were only about 50 Javen Rhinos and their numbers continued to fall. Believe it or not, they were once the most wide-spread of the Asian Rhinos. Their Vietnamese subspecies went extinct in 2010, leaving only those Javen Rhinos in the Ujung Kulon Park (Indonesia). Recently, I decided to Google them, and this is where my little good news comes in. According to the International Rhino Foundation website, the latest report (2019) tallied 79 rhinos including four calves! Since 2012, there has been at least one calf born every year. The concerted conservation efforts of highly trained officials and the Yayasan Badak Indonesia (Rhino Foundation of Indonesia) are paying off! Surpassing 70 rhinos is a significant milestone that should be celebrated. One day soon they can reintroduce the Javen Rhino into all their old stomping grounds. Yes I know, 72 is not a large number but it is a start and the population is going in the right direction. When it comes to rhinos, I will take all the good news I can.

A Javen Rhino photograph was taken from the Save The Rhino website savetherhino.org. I would recommend you check out the website. ( I really wish I had taken that picture.)