Nearly Extinct Rhino Babies Caught on Video

posted by Jake Richardson
from: http://www.care2.com/

There may be as few as 40 Javan rhinos left in the wild — and in the world as none currently are living in captivity. (They may be the rarest large mammals on the planet.) Recently a motion-activated video camera in an Indonesian national park caught two very young Javan rhinos with their mothers on tape. Not only are they extremely rare, they also only give birth about once every four or five years.

“The videos are great news for Javan rhinos and prove that they are breeding in Ujung Kulon. There are no Javan rhinos in captivity — if we lose the population in the wild, we’ve lost them all,” said Dr. Eric Dinerstein, chief scientist at WWF-US. (Source: WWF)
 


(If you want to support Javan rhino conservation, you can donate to the World Wildlife Fund.)
Javan rhinos used to be widespread in various parts of Asia, but poaching decreased their numbers drastically. Traditional Chinese “medicine” has driven the price of rhino horn to as much as $30,000 per kilogram even though scientifically it has been proven to have no medicinal significance. The main ingredient of rhino horn is simply keratin, the same protein found in human fingernails so consuming rhino horn powder would have the same effect as eating one’s own fingernails. The superstitious false belief in rhino horn has fueled the poaching of rhinos for 2,000 years.

The news is especially good because Javan rhinos are solitary and prefer to stay far from humans, which makes it very difficult to study them. Javan rhinos live about 30-45 years in the wild,  and are herbivores. Any Javan rhinos that were kept in captivity did not do well, dying at about half their lifespan in the wild. They have no known predators other than humans.

Another large mammal on Java already went extinct — the Javan tiger. They were all shot, and their habitat was converted for agriculture. The situation for the Javan rhinos is dire, but at least there are conservationists trying to protect them. They are still at risk from poachers who want to cash them in for a quick sale on the black market.

Crippled Baby Elephant Chhouk: Now Walking and Running on Prosthetic Foot

Written by Jace Shoemaker-Galloway

Several years ago, orphaned baby Chhouk was found wandering alone in the forest without a foot. The endangered Asian baby elephant apparently lost his left front foot due to injuries sustained from a poacher’s snare.

Rescued in a remote area of northeastern Cambodia, the injured elephant was transported by truck to the Phnom Tamao Wildlife Rescue Center in what turned out to be a very difficult and treacherous 26-hour journey. Besides being severely malnourished, his stump was badly infected and nearly 5 inches of infected tissue was removed. Balance issues and severe strain made walking on three feet nearly impossible.

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Asian Elephants

According to the ICUN Red List, Asian elephants, Elephas maximus, are endangered. Due to habitat loss and poaching, it is estimated only a few hundred of the Asian elephants exist in the wild in Cambodia. Asian elephants can live up to 60 or 70 years.

Chhouk’s Long Journey

After being cared for by specialists since his rescue, the young elephant has now been fitted with a prosthesis. The Cambodian School of Prosthetics and Orthotics (CSPO) headed the project to fit the baby with a brand new foot. Although the foot needed some tweaking and repairs along the way, Chhouk can now walk and run with the new design.

While many caring people were involved in the elephant’s rescue and recovery effort, Nick Marx, director of the Wildlife Alliance’s Cambodia Rescue Center, wrote, “However we must not forget the character and determination of the patient also. A lesser spirit might not have survived the ordeal.”

Due to his injuries, he can never be released back into the wild. Chhouk and an older female elephant at the facility, Lucky, are now the best of pals. In good health and as happy as a horse, Chhouk and Lucky spend their days frolicking in the pool and enjoying life.

Asian elephant and baby photo courtesy of SuperJew via Creative Commons license.

Cambodia Rescue Center