Searching for Javan Rhinos

A boat takes tour members from Handeleum Island to a point on the Ujung Kulon peninsula from which the search for Javan rhinos begins.
A boat takes tour members from Handeleum Island to a point on the Ujung Kulon peninsula from which the search for Javan rhinos begins.

Bowling for Rhinos tour participants recently spent two days in hiking and canoeing in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park, searching for the elusive and critically endangered Javan rhino. Although they did not directly sight any rhinos, led by IRF-supported Rhino Protection Units, they encountered telltale signs of recent rhino feeding and the large unmistakable footprint.
Bowling for Rhinos tour members hike through the national park’s lowland tropical rain forest.
Bowling for Rhinos tour members hike through the national park’s lowland tropical rain forest.

Crystal Butler of the Oklahoma City Zoo points out a distinctive rhino footprint.
Crystal Butler of the Oklahoma City Zoo points out a distinctive rhino footprint.

Indonesian biologists Inov and Santo in a one-hectare habitat restoration plot in Ujung Kulon’s Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA).
Indonesian biologists Inov and Santo in a one-hectare habitat restoration plot in Ujung Kulon’s Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA).

A canoe trip up and down the Ciguenter river, hoping to spy a Javan rhino swimming or walking along the bank.
A canoe trip up and down the Ciguenter river, hoping to spy a Javan rhino swimming or walking along the bank.

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