One of the worlds most endangered animals, is the Asian Rhinos: they are critically endangered, and there are only less than 4,000 of them left in the world today! Due to their very precarious numbers, Asian Rhinos are vulnerable to extinction within our lifetime.
There are three different species of Asian Rhinos.
These different subspecies of Asian Rhinos are: (1) the Javan Rhino, (2) the Sumatran Rhino, and (3) the Greater One-Horned Rhino. These three subspecies of Rhinos are classed from 'vunerable' to 'critically endangered'. Let's look at each subspecies closer.
The Javan Rhino
Out of all of the three subspecies of Asian Rhino, the Javan Rhino is the most endangered. These animals are classed as critically endangered. The Javan Rhino is very close to extinction, as there are only around 63 of them remaining in the wild today.
The Javan Rhino faces several threats to its existence. One of the main threats facing these animals are a loss of habitat. Another threat to their existence, is the illegal wildlife trade. Sadly, Rhinos, including the Javan Rhino, are heavily persecuted by the wildlife trade.
Javan Rhinos are threatened by the illegal wildlife trade due to poaching. Poachers have killed these beautiful animals for two reasons: for their horn, and to use them in traditional medicine. Historic poaching of Javan Rhinos has played a major role in this animals decline. But, they still face the threat of poaching to this day. The other threat to their existence: the destruction of their habitat is another contributing factor into this animals decline.
Javan Rhinos could once be found throughout Asia. They used to be found in countries such as: Vietnam, Myanmar, China, Bangladesh, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, India and Bhutan. However, they now only exist in a small national park in Indonesia, known as the Ujung Kulon National Park - this tiny habitat shows how much the Javan population has been destroyed - it is the only place in the world today where these animals can be found in the wild. This beautiful animal has been driven to near extinction.
The Sumatran Rhino
The Sumatran Rhino, like the Javan Rhino, is also a critically endangered animal. The Sumatran Rhino doesn't fair much better. Sadly, these animals are also near extinction: there are only 80 Sumatran Rhino individuals remaining in the wild today.
Sumatran Rhinos are found in the rainforests of Sumatra. However, they once existed throughout many countries in Asia. Sumatran Rhinos once existed in: India, Bhutan, Myanmar, Thailand, China, Vietnam and the Himalayas. However, now they only exist in the rainforests of Sumatra, which show how these animals have been persecuted, alongside their habitats being destroyed.
Their are two main threats to the existence of the Sumatran Rhino. The first, is that these animals have been persecuted by the illegal wildlife trade. They have been persecuted for their horns and for the purpose of being used in traditional medicine. Another reason that these animals have been declining, is due to habitat destruction. The destruction of their forest homes has resulted in a decline of these animals. And, sadly, what makes these two factors worse, is that the Sumatran Rhino doesn't have any legal protection - which makes the persecution of these animals sadly easier.
The Greater-One Horned Rhino
The Greater-One Horned Rhino has a much healthier population than both the Javan Rhino, and the Sumatran Rhino. However, the Greater-One Horned Rhino is still an animal which is vulnerable to extinction: there is thought to be only 3555 of the Greater-One Horned Rhino existing in the wild today. It makes them as endangered as Tigers.
Habitat destruction has played a huge role in these animals becoming vulnerable to extinction. They live in grasslands and forests, which have been disappearing over time, due to human destruction of them. Without a protection of grasslands and forests, these animals will continue to decline, and possibly go extinct.
This is not the only threat to these Rhinos. They are, like other Rhinos, threatened with the illegal wildlife trade. They are also an animal which is suffering due to a low reproduction rate.
However, unlike the other Asian Rhinos, the Greater-one Horned Rhino is seeing an increase in their population!
Asian Rhinos Conclusion
There are three subspecies of Asian Rhinos. Two of them are critically endangered, and one of them is vulnerable to extinction.
The main two threats to these animals existence, is: habitat loss and the illegal wildlife trade. Both which pose a risk to these animals surviving in the future.