New footage obtained through infra-red technology that was released on Thursday captures hither to unseen images of elusive Java rhinos. They are the most endangered mammals in the world; fewer than 60 individuals are believed to remain live. The grainy video was released by environmental group WWF, which has been monitoring the rhinos for about 20 years in the Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia's Java Island. The clips show a mother and calf and a large male wallowing in various mud holes, revealing behaviour researchers had never seem before and helping with the identification of individual animals. In one clip shot at night, a female rhino chases a wild pg away from its mud hole."These rhinos are very shy. In the last 20 years our team has only seen rhinos two or three times with their own eyes", WWF Asian rhino coordinator Christy Williams said.He said WWF had previously operated still cameras in the dense jungle but the rhinos-which can weigh 2,300kg and measure over 3 metres in length-were often frightened by the shutter and fled area or attacked the cameras.Under an expanded project to film the animals, 34 cameras, with infra-red triggers which take video any time they sense movement in the forest have been painstakingly installed in likely rhino haunts. Typically they are concealed in trees overlooking wallowing ponds and streams and most of the clips released on Thursday show the animals wading or wallowing the mud..The WWF is identifying other suitable rhino habitat areas on Java with a view to resettling some individuals from Ujung Kulon to boost their chances of survival.Rhino experts from around the world met in Indonesia earlier this week to discuss plans and progress on protecting rhinos.
The Hindu, 6th March 2009
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