Javan Rhino On The Ujung Kulon Peninsula Moved To JRSCA, Ministry Of Transportation: Staying In Natural Habitat

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Forestry (Kemenhut) has confirmed the translocation of the Javan Rhinoceros sondaicus to Javan Rhino Study and Conservation Area (JRSCA) which is still in natural habitat in Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK).

Head of the TNUK Center, Ardi Andono, said that the translocation of the Javan Rhino was the process of moving individual rhinos from the Ujung Kulon Peninsula to locations that had been prepared ecologically and considered safe.

"So it remains in its natural habitat, the area is regulated so that rhinos are not far apart between male and female individuals can meet to mate," he said in a written statement, Monday, confiscated by Antara.

Ardi said Operation Merah Putih Translokasi Badak Jawa was not moving the Javan Rhino outside the TNUK area, because the JRSCA was still in the conservation area.

JRSCA, he said, is not an artificial habitat but is a native habitat for the Javan Rhino. However, its management is more stringent, including making fences to make them safer, monitored, and has a greater chance of breeding.

JRSCA is a native habitat and part of the TNUK area that has long been inhabited by endangered animals. The area will function as the second population site, which aims to support the formation of a new population that is healthier and more sustainable.

JRSCA with an area of 5,100 hectares is designed as an effort to increase the population through a more measurable conservation strategy. The area is limited by fences built in stages from 2010 to 2022.

With the existence of a safety fence, the potential threat from outside can be minimized, while the chances of a rhino's natural marriage can be increased.

"We want the public to understand that this translocation is a serious conservation strategy, it does not mean confining rhinos, let alone moving them out of the TNUK area. In fact, this is a form of concrete steps to keep rhinos in their natural habitat with better management," explained Ardi.

The Ministry of Transportation through the TNUK Center hopes that the wider community can support Javan rhino conservation measures with a translocation program, because the success of the program will determine the future of Indonesia's endemic species in its natural habitat.

Previously, the Ministry of Transportation officially started Operation Merah Putih at the end of August 2025 to translocate the Javan Rhino as part of efforts to save the endangered animal population.

Translocation is done because the animal faces a high risk with limited habitat support, low genetic diversity, and an inbreeding rate of 58.5 percent. Population Viability Analysis (PVA) even predicts this species could become extinct in less than 50 years without real intervention.

The translocation was carried out in collaboration with the TNI and the Indonesian Rhino Foundation (YABI) to move the Javan Rhino from the Ujung Kulon Peninsula to JRSCA.