Thirty men squat on concrete outside a colourful urban café on the Indonesian island of Java. Their gaze is focused on a rainbow palate of cages dangling from a corrugated metal roof. They listen even more intently – for inside the structures, birds are competing to get their songs heard. The onlookers are just as […]
Tag: java
Is the ‘Extinct’ Javan Tiger Still Alive in Indonesia?
No one’s actually seen the animal for 40 years, but a wildlife ranger in Indonesia has snapped photos and video of a tiger that many believe is long extinct. The Javan tiger is one of the nine subspecies of tiger. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature’s (IUCN) Red List declared it extinct in […]
Can the Javan rhino be saved before disaster strikes?
As the old saying warns, it’s bad enough to put all your eggs in one basket. If you have to, though, at least try not to leave that basket sitting on the beach under an active volcano. Unfortunately, that’s basically the situation of the last population of the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus). The Javan rhino […]
Video: Extraordinary journey to photograph the rarest rhino on Earth
Wildlife photographer Stephen Belcher embarks on a precarious journey through the vast, almost impenetrable jungles of Indonesia to capture the first high-definition images of the critically endangered Javan rhino. With only around 35 of the iconic animals left in the world, his photographs could be our last glimpse of these elusive creatures. This video was […]
Scientists capture one of the world’s rarest big cats on film (photos)
Less than a hundred kilometers from the bustling metropolis of Jakarta, scientists have captured incredible photos of one of the world’s most endangered big cats: the Javan leopard (Panthera pardus melas). Taken by a research project in Gunung Halimun-Salak National Park, the photos show the magnificent animal relaxing in dense primary rainforest. Scientists believe that […]
Bizarre, little-known carnivore sold as illegal pet in Indonesian markets (photo)
Few people have ever heard of the Javan ferret-badger, but that hasn’t stopped this animal – little-known even to scientists – from being sold in open markets in Jakarta according to a new paper in Small Carnivore Conservation. The Javan ferret-badger (Melogale orientalis) is one of five species in the ferret-badger family, which are smaller […]