Poachers arrested after ‘disturbing’ killing of critically endangered rhinos: ‘Serious crime’

Even though two of their rings have been dismantled, poachers may be driving the Javan rhino into extinction.

As of 2018, CBS News reported in June, as few as 50 rhinos may have survived on the island, while at least 26 have been killed since then.

The critically endangered species is one of only five left in the world. They are hunted for their horns, which are used in traditional Chinese medicine and for ornaments, according to CBS.

There are other obstacles that these wondrous creatures must overcome, with their population rising from just 25 in 1967 to 76 in 2022, according to the International Rhino Foundation. The rhinos that live in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park lack genetic diversity and a balanced sex ratio (males outnumber females by a factor of 2 to 1). Their habitat is saturated and prone to natural disasters.

The biggest problem, however, is poaching. The park has had to increase security and close itself to visitors because of “attempted poaching,” the foundation noted. There has been no rhino census since 2019, Ujung Kulon Ecotour reported, noting that population estimates are unreliable and that poaching syndicates have apparently operated undetected in the park for four years.

Six suspected poachers were arrested by Indonesian authorities last month. Eight others remain at large. The Sunendi leader, who was arrested last year, was sentenced to 12 years in prison and fined 100 million rupiah ($6,102) — “the harshest sentence ever imposed for wildlife crimes in the country,” according to a wildlife tourism company. The sentence was so harsh because he was also charged with possessing a firearm.

According to CBS, the middleman who bought the horns from poachers has appeared in court.

“Poaching protected animals is a serious crime and a cause for international concern,” said Rasio Ridho Sani, director-general of law enforcement at the Ministry of Forestry and Environment, who helped catch the alleged criminals. “We are working closely with the Banten Regional Police to search for and arrest the animal poachers who managed to escape during the operation.”

Save the Rhino noted that the Javan rhino has been pushed onto the island over the past 14 years, after the last of its kind outside Indonesia was hunted in Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam. The creatures are solitary and can live for 30 to 40 years.

“It is essential that (poachers) are brought to justice to the fullest extent of the law and that agencies work together to investigate and dismantle the networks responsible for transporting rhino horn to the black market in China,” said Save the Rhino chief executive Jo Shaw.

“…Despite this very worrying setback, we have hope. We know that Javan rhinos are continuing to breed, and earlier this year a new calf was spotted on a camera trap. One birth doesn’t make up for the loss of a rhino, but it shows that with effective protection we can enable the population growth that this species desperately needs.”

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