Leaves, shoots, twigs, and fallen fruit make up the majority of the Javan rhinoceros’ diet. Javan rhinoceroses do not use their horns for fighting, but rather use them to scrape mud, pull down plants for eating, and open paths through thick vegetation. Only males in this species develop horns, female Javan rhinoceroses are the only extant rhinos that remain hornless into adulthood.
Like the Indian rhino, the Javan rhinoceros has a single horn compared to the other three species which have two. They have the smallest horns of the Rhinocerotidae family, measuring less than 20 cm (7.9 in) in length. The second smallest species of rhino, Javan rhinoceros can reach a height of 1.7 m (5.6 ft) and weigh up to 2,300 kg (5,070 lb). Javan rhinoceroses are the flagship species of the Western Java Rainforests ecoregion, located in the bioregion of Javan-Bali Tropical Rainforests ( IM17)
They eat large amounts of vegetation which helps the forest stay healthy so it can house more biodiversity, sequester more carbon, and produce more oxygen. Like all rhinoceroses, Javan rhinos are vital grazers. The rarest of the five rhino species, there are only 75 Javan rhinos currently living. Once, this great species roamed the islands of Java and Sumatra, throughout Southeast Asia, and into India and China, but now are only found on the tip of the Banten Province in Indonesia.
JAVAN RHINOCEROS SKIN
With a small, black horn at the tip of their snout, leathery skin folds giving an armored appearance, and weighing over two tons, the Javan rhinoceros is a fascinating sight to behold in the dense jungle of Ujung Kulon National Park. Each Wednesday, One Earth’s “Species of the Week” series highlights a relatively unknown and fascinating species to showcase the beauty, diversity, and remarkable characteristics of our shared planet Earth.