Desy the Javan rhino has her fifth calf, a boost for one of the world's rarest mammals

At 9:35 pm on 10 October, a camera trap in Ujung Kulon National Park, on the western tip of Java, Indonesia, filmed a rhino wallowing in the mud. A calf was right behind her. The mother is Desy, a female well known to the rangers, and Indonesia’s Ministry of Forestry announced the birth on 2 November.

The calf is one to two months old, according to the park, which describes it as healthy and staying close to its mother. It is Desy’s fifth: before it came Arjuna (2013), Arum (2015), Hawa (2018) and Syauki (2024). The father is most likely a male called Musofa.

Desy and her calf in the camera-trap footage from 10 October. Video courtesy of Ujung Kulon National Park.

A species with a single home

The Javan rhino is one of the rarest mammals on Earth: it lives only in Ujung Kulon, where the population now stands at more than 90, the highest on record, according to the park. So every birth counts. “It is a great blessing and a great hope for the conservation of the Javan rhino,” said Mahfudz, acting Director General of Natural Resources and Ecosystem Conservation at the Ministry of Forestry. “This is not only a joy for the park, but for Indonesia and the world.”

Ardi Andono, head of the park, said Desy “is in very good condition and experienced at raising calves”.

The news follows hard years. Between 2018 and 2022, at least ten Javan rhinos were killed in Ujung Kulon by poachers, according to the ministry. Those responsible were tried and jailed for up to 12 years, and the park keeps watch over its rhinos with a network of camera traps like the one that filmed Desy and her calf.