| |
|
In 1990 the Minnesota Zoo charted a new course for wildlife
conservationists in zoos worldwide by "adopting"
an Indonesian National Park. Through this in situ
(on location) conservation project, the zoo provides direct
assistance to Indonesian forestry rangers (PKA) in their
efforts to better manage and protect their national parks.
This in situ conservation program validates the zoo's
Conservation Policy, which states "the Zoo will continue
to support the preservation and restoration of endangered
species' natural habitats", a program designed to allow
us to reach beyond our "own fences" to protect
wild animals where they live naturally, a conservation initiative
we termed the Adopt-A-Park Program.
|
|
Photo courtesy of PHKA &
WWF Indonesia program
|
The Minnesota Zoo's first park of choice was Ujung Kulon; a small,
verdant wilderness (one-fourth the size of Yellowstone National
Park) perched on the western-most tip of Java in Indonesia. It
is virtually the last refuge of the one-horned Javan rhinoceros
(Rhinoceros sondaicus), a shy forest dwelling rhino that
once ranged across much of Indochina. Today, the Javan rhino is
nearly extinct. Less than 80 animals are believed to exist in
the world today, the majority of them in Ujung Kulon with perhaps
a handful living in southern Vietnam.
|
Photo courtesy of PHKA & WWF
Indonesia program
|
|
The rhino's persistence in time is due to an unusual act
of nature. In 1883 a volcano on nearby Krakatau Island exploded,
an event reported to be 100 times more powerful than the
St. Helen's explosion that was so loud it was heard a thousand
miles away. In the wake of the eruption came giant tidal
waves that devastated villages and crops along this part
of Java's coastline, and ever since people have shunned
Java's western peninsula in fear of another eruption. This
respite lasted long enough for Ujung Kulon to receive official
protection as a nature reserve in 1921, and in 1980 it became
known as Ujung Kulon National Park.
|
Unfortunately, not even this last remote island population of
Javan rhinos is safe from extinction. Beyond the risks of natural
disaster, genetic problems and disease, the threat of poaching
still looms large in Ujung Kulon.
Why would the Minnesota Zoo concern itself with a conservation
dilemma located half a globe away? It is because this outreach
program is a natural extension of the Zoo's conservation policy,
and Ujung Kulon is a perfect choice for us. This park protects
one of the last remaining fragments of lowland forest on Java,
many species of rare plants, hundreds of bird species (several
of which are displayed in the Zoo's Asian Tropics), numerous rare
amphibians, fish and reptiles as well as the Javan rhino. By using
the Javan rhino as an "umbrella species" we attract
attention and funds that otherwise would not be available, and
thereby help conserve a significant combination of Javan wildlife
species as well as an entire ecosystem that is recognized as a
natural area of global importance.
|
Reflecting the park's most urgent needs our first priority
was to improve transportation and communication links for
park guards by purchasing locally-built patrol boats (one
was christened the Minnesota) to ferry park staff
and supplies to remote guard posts, canoes for patrolling
inland rivers, field bikes for patrolling roads on the eastern
side of the park, and elements of a field communication
system for several guard posts. In subsequent years, in
partnership with the New Zealand Department of Nature Conservation,
we focused on the renovation or construction of more modern
guard posts. Another partner, the Minnesota Conservation
Officers Association, focused on training park rangers in
law enforcement techniques and provided rangers with necessary
equipment.
|
|
Photo courtesy of PHKA & WWF
Indonesia program
|
Since 1996 our newest conservation partner--the American Association
of Zoo Keepers (AAZK)-- through a novel program called "Bowling
for Rhinos", has raised over $200,000. These funds purchased
desperately needed field equipment and patrol boats for park rangers,
and are also supporting the World Wildlife Fund-Indonesia Program's
first ever photo-trapping census of the remaining Javan rhino
population. The AAZK also funds on-going field operations of eight
"Rhino Patrol Units" (RPU), the only proven method to
effectively protect these tropical forest rhinos.
Taking another giant step, in 2000, the AAZK committed to support
the costs of a system of coastal patrol units designed to discourage
poachers from entering the park along its unguarded coastline.
There is now a photo inventory of over 75 Javan rhinos comprised
of eight male and four female individually recognized rhinos that
is growing larger every day, the RPU are operational and report
that no rhino poachers have been encountered (several song bird
poachers were arrested), and plans are underway to launch the
coastal patrol units soon.
In October 2001, WWF Indonesia released a report to the press
detailing the occurrence of at least four Javan rhino births in
the last two years in Ujung Kulon National Park. Four rhino calves
have been confirmed through the use of footprint tracking and
camera trapping within the park. The only remaining viable population
of the Javan rhino exists in Ujung Kulon and consists of about
75 rhinos. These documented births point to a 4% annual reproduction
rate which is outstanding for this species. Conservation efforts
in the park by the Minnesota Zoo and other similar organizations
are paying off and the rhino population is recovering, albeit
slowly. Now the goal is to continue to maintain current conservation
levels and improve on programs already in existence to insure
a continued future for these animals. Today the park is much more
secure than it was 10 years ago. Congratulations to the AAZK,
all the Minnesota Zoo staff who have "Bowled for Rhinos"
and the generous public who continue to financially contribute
to the "Bowling for Rhinos" project, your support of
this remote park in Indonesia has real conservation meaning. remote
park in Indonesia has real conservation meaning.
|