Rhino Protection Units, IRF, YABI and park staff operate five terrestrial and two marine Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) in UKNP. IRF is working with the Indonesian Government, park officials and local partners to increase the amount of suitable habitat available for Javan rhinos in Ujung Kulon so their population can continue to grow. The population is also threatened by limited habitat and potential natural disasters. Javan rhinos face increased threats from human encroachment in UKNP and officials are concerned that this could lead to poaching incidents. The two marine Rhino Protection Units, launched by YABI and UKNP with funding from IRF in January 2020, continue to monitor the park’s coastline. Javan rhinos are kept safe by Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) operated by Yayasan Badak Indonesia (YABI) in partnership with Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP). In time, the data will also guide decisions on which rhinos to move to a second site in order to reduce the species’ risk of extinction and allow for further population growth. The monitoring program, which is supported by IRF and on-the-ground partner the Alliance of Forest Integrated Conservation (ALeRT), plays a critical role in the protection and management of this species and provides demographic data on the park’s Javan rhino population that can be used for population management. Ujung Kulon National Park runs a comprehensive rhino monitoring program, tracking every individual Javan rhino. The rhino population has gradually increased, with at least one new calf recorded every year since 2012. Javan rhinos are found only in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP), where ten years ago there were fewer than 50 Javan rhinos. Indonesia’s Ministry of Environment and Forestry (MOEF) estimates the Javan rhino population at 76 individuals in 2022, a small increase over last year’s 75, with one birth and no deaths reported so far this year. IRF works with our local partner, the Rhino Foundation of Indonesia (Yayasan Badak Indonesia or YABI), and the staff of Ujung Kulon National Park to protect the world’s only population of Javan rhinos while also working to expand the species’ habitat in Indonesia.
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