Transferring Knowledge of the Javan Rhinoceros through Children's Story Books

KOMPAS/STEPHANUS ARANDITIO

The diary of Baja the Javan Rhinoceros by the Indonesian Badak Foundation published by Erlangga Publishers was launched at MGP Space, SCBD Park, South Jakarta, Sunday (5/5/2024).

JAKARTA, KOMPAS — Efforts to protect and preserve the Javan rhinoceros and Sumatran rhinoceros need to continue for children. The next generation needs to be aware of the importance of protecting nature in order to protect the habitat of endangered fauna.

One medium for transferring knowledge to today's children is children's books. The Indonesian Badak Foundation (YABI) together with Erlangga Book Publishers launched the diary Baja the Javan Rhinoceros, an illustrated story book that tells the daily activities of Baja, a Javan rhinoceros in Park Ujung Kulon National, Banten.

The writer, Nuke Arincy, explained that Javan rhinoceros has a highly sensitive and easily stressed nature. This fauna lives on the increasingly overcrowded island of Java, posing a unique challenge to preserve the habitat and population of Javan rhinoceros. Together with the YABI education team, she hopes that this book can be read by all children in Indonesia to understand that preserving nature is equal to preserving the wildlife within it.

"We want to continue to expand our efforts to involve the community in preserving the Javan and Sumatran rhinos and want to disseminate information about the uniqueness of the rhino. The book is not too heavy because we want to encourage children to understand," said Nuke at the launch of the book Baja the Javan Rhino i> at MGP Space, SCBD Park, South Jakarta, Sunday (5/5/2024).

KOMPAS/STEPHANUS ARANDITIO

The author of the diary Baja the Javan Rhino, Nuke Arincy, from the Indonesian Badak Foundation education team signed his work published by Erlangga Publishers and launched at MGP Space, SCBD Park, South Jakarta, Sunday (5/5/2024) .

This book provides a systematic and lightweight explanation starting with the morphology of the Javan rhinoceros, which is larger than the Sumatran rhinoceros, weighing 900-2,300 kilograms, with a height of 1.2-1.7 meters, and a length of 3-3.4 meters. Then, its skin is hairy, with small eyes, and the most striking feature is its single horn, with an average length of 20-25 centimeters (cm) or can reach up to 30.5 cm.

This book also shows pictures of Baja, who has a hobby of eating branches and small stems. After eating one or more plants at a certain point, he will slowly move and stop again for a moment to eat again.

Currently there are 77 Javan rhinos as of 2022 spread across the southern part of the Ujung Kulon Peninsula area.

Actually, the Javan rhinoceros is an animal that has no enemies because it does not disturb or get disturbed by other animals. This is due to the solitary life behavior of the Javan rhinoceros. Most of its life is spent wallowing to keep its skin moist.

Rhinos play a crucial role in maintaining ecosystem balance by controlling plant populations, creating paths in forests, and providing a source of water for other wildlife.

"So, this book delivers the message that rhinos also contribute to the forest ecosystem and we invite all children to learn about rhino conservation," he said.

Also read: Evidence of the Death of 15 Javan Rhinos in Ujung Kulon Has Not Been Found

The population of this animal with the Latin name Rhinoceros sondaicus is now limited and concentrated in Ujung Kulon National Park since the 1930s. The population size has been stable since no hunting data was recorded for three decades. Currently there are 77 individuals as of 2022 spread across the southern part of the Ujung Kulon Peninsula, namely the Cibandawoh, Cikeusik, Citadahan and Cibunar river basins.

KOMPAS/STEPHANUS ARANDITIO

Elementary school children asked questions about Javan rhinos at the launch of the book Baja the Javan Rhino at MGP Space, SCBD Park, South Jakarta, Sunday (5/5/2024).

Sumatran rhino

Assistant Managing Director of Product Erlangga Publisher Fikri Somyadewi added that the collaboration with YABI does not stop with the book Baja Si Badak Jawa. Next, they will pass on their knowledge through children's books about the Sumatran rhino.

"We see this as a perfect match for Erlangga because the animals in Indonesian story books are often depicted in fables, rarely as actual animals. And this was written directly by YABI, so it can be accounted for," said Fikri.

Also read: Intensive Javan Rhino Conservation Strategy Urgently Implemented

Not only that, they will also develop other books such as interactive books that can be drawn or colored by children in the future. In this launch event, they also invited kindergarten children to participate in a coloring contest and had a discussion with elementary school children about the Javan rhino.

The discussion was very lively, and the children seemed enthusiastic to get to know the rhinoceros that they have never seen in their daily lives. In fact, there was a group of children who asked to be taken to Ujung Kulon National Park to see the rhinoceros directly.