June Rhino Champions: Rhino Protection Units

Our featured Rhino Champions for June are the Rhino Protection Units who patrol the forests of Indonesia to protect Sumatran and Javan rhinos.

Javan Rhinos

Ujung Kulon National Park (UKNP) is Indonesia’s first UNESCO World Heritage Site, the largest remaining tract of lowland tropical forest on the island of Java, and home to the world’s last surviving population of the Critically Endangered Javan rhino. 

For nearly twenty years, IRF and our partners have funded Javan Rhino Protection Units in Ujung Kulon National Park – highly-trained, anti-poaching teams that patrol the forests, monitoring wildlife, removing traps and snares, and identifying and apprehending illegal intruders. As the Javan rhino population expands, it is critical that this intensive protection continue.