Javan Rhino

Javan Rhino facts at a glance

How big is a javan rhino?

An adult javan rhino measures 3.2 m long — about 1.8× the height of an average adult person (1.73 m) — and weighs around 1500 kg, about 21× an average adult’s body weight (70 kg).

What is a group of javan rhinos called?

Explore more animal collective nouns and baby animal names .

Last population on Java

All surviving Javan rhinos live in Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java — a peninsula isolated by the 1883 Krakatau eruption and tsunami. No Javan rhinos remain in their former range across Southeast Asia, Vietnam, or India.

Forest browser

Unlike grass-grazing white rhinos, Javan rhinos browse woody vegetation in dense rainforest, using a pointed upper lip to strip shoots and fallen fruit. They follow regular trails through undergrowth and wallow in mud to cool and deter insects.

Extreme rarity

With fewer than 80 individuals, the Javan rhino is the rarest large mammal on Earth. The last Javan rhino in Vietnam was poached in 2010. Every birth in Ujung Kulon is monitored by camera traps — the population is too small to survive a disease outbreak or natural disaster.

Recovery challenges

Plans to establish a second population on Java or elsewhere have progressed slowly due to habitat requirements, tsunami risk at Ujung Kulon, and the invasive Arenga palm crowding out rhino food plants. Anti-poaching success means natural threats now dominate.

Did you know? Javan Rhino facts

• The Javan rhinoceros is the rarest of all rhino species, with roughly 70 individuals surviving in a single national park on Java, Indonesia.
• Roughly 70–75 individuals, all in Ujung Kulon National Park on Java, Indonesia — the rarest rhino species and one of the rarest mammals on Earth.
• Javan rhinos are smaller, nearly hairless, and have a single horn. Indian (greater one-horned) rhinos are larger with armour-like skin folds and number over 4,000 in India and Nepal.
• Historic hunting for horn and habitat loss eliminated them across Asia. The entire species now depends on one small park vulnerable to tsunami, disease, and invasive plants.
• Usually one horn, rarely two — unlike African rhinos which typically have two horns (though black rhinos also have one primary horn).
• Conservation: Critically Endangered (IUCN).

Diet & feeding

Javan Rhino feeds primarily as a herbivore — shoots, twigs, fallen fruit, and leaves. Unlike grass-grazing white rhinos, Javan rhinos browse woody vegetation in dense rainforest, using a pointed upper lip to strip shoots and fallen fruit. They follow regular trails through undergrowth and wallow in mud to cool and dete

Adaptations

• All surviving Javan rhinos live in Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java — a peninsula isolated by the 1883 Krakatau eruption and tsunami. No Javan rhinos remain in their former range across Southeast Asia, Vietnam, or India.
• Unlike grass-grazing white rhinos, Javan rhinos browse woody vegetation in dense rainforest, using a pointed upper lip to strip shoots and fallen fruit. They follow regular trails through undergrowth and wallow in mud to cool and deter insects.

Behaviour & ecology

• All surviving Javan rhinos live in Ujung Kulon National Park at the western tip of Java — a peninsula isolated by the 1883 Krakatau eruption and tsunami. No Javan rhinos remain in their former range across Southeast Asia, Vietnam, or India.
• Unlike grass-grazing white rhinos, Javan rhinos browse woody vegetation in dense rainforest, using a pointed upper lip to strip shoots and fallen fruit. They follow regular trails through undergrowth and wallow in mud to cool and deter insects.
• With fewer than 80 individuals, the Javan rhino is the rarest large mammal on Earth. The last Javan rhino in Vietnam was poached in 2010. Every birth in Ujung Kulon is monitored by camera traps — the population is too small to survive a disease outbreak or natural disaster.

Communication

• Javan Rhino uses scent, posture, and vocal signals to mark territory and coordinate social behaviour.
• Communication intensity often peaks during breeding seasons and territorial disputes.

Habitat & range

Dense tropical rainforest and tall grass in lowland Java

Ecological role

Javan Rhino shapes vegetation through grazing or browsing and serves as prey for larger predators where ranges overlap.

Conservation status of the Javan Rhino

Sources & references

This guide is compiled and reviewed against established zoological and conservation references. Key sources for the Javan Rhino:

• IUCN Red List of Threatened Species

  Conservation status (Critically Endangered) reflects the IUCN Red List category for Rhinoceros sondaicus, most recently assessed in 2020.

• iNaturalist — observations & photos

  Search citizen-science observations and community IDs for Rhinoceros sondaicus. Useful for range checks and recent sightings — not a substitute for formal Red List status.

• GBIF — occurrence data

  Global Biodiversity Information Facility species search for Rhinoceros sondaicus. Explore published occurrence records used in range research.

• IUCN Red List — Rhinoceros sondaicus.

  Conservation status (Critically Endangered) and population trends.

• Animal Diversity Web — Rhinoceros sondaicus. University of Michigan Museum of Zoology.

  Life history, morphology, and range.

• Wikipedia — Javan Rhino.

  General taxonomy and overview (cross-check primary sources).

• Global Animal Guide editorial standards

  How we research, source, review, and update every guide for accuracy.