A staggering 26 Javan rhinos may have been killed in Indonesia’s Ujung Kulon National Park since 2019, according to local law enforcement. Once roaming much of Southeast Asia, Javan rhinos (Rhinoceros sondaicus) today survive in a single park in Java and are one of the most endangered large mammals on Earth. If the death toll is accurate, it would amount to poachers killing at least one-third of all the Javan rhinos left on the planet in the span of just a few years. The mass slaughter raises questions of how this could happen in what was supposed to be a heavily guarded park. Abdul Karim, the police chief of Banten province, where the park is located, told local media that officials don’t know for certain how many rhinos were killed, as the number is currently based on statements from suspects in custody and not on findings of direct evidence such as rhino horns or bones. However, when asked by local media, he confirmed that the suspects claimed to have killed 26 rhinos. Karim said the authorities have arrested 13 suspected members of two poaching gangs: all eight alleged members of a gang thought to be led by a suspect named Sunendi, and five alleged members of another led by a suspect named Suhar. Three other alleged members of the Suhar gang are still at large. Police have also arrested two other men for allegedly fencing the rhino horns. In their statements to police, the suspects said the horns were destined…This article was originally published on Mongabay
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