This article needs additional citations for verification .(April 2011) |
Javan rusa | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Male and female at Baluran National Park, East Java, Indonesia | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Mammalia |
Order: | Artiodactyla |
Family: | Cervidae |
Subfamily: | Cervinae |
Genus: | Rusa |
Species: | R. timorensis [2] |
Binomial name | |
Rusa timorensis [2] (Blainville, 1822) | |
![]() | |
Present distribution within the native range, including possible ancient introductions | |
Synonyms | |
List
|
The Javan rusa or Sunda sambar (Rusa timorensis) is a large deer species native to Indonesia and East Timor. Introduced populations exist in a wide variety of locations in the Southern Hemisphere.
Seven subspecies of the Javan rusa are recognised: [2]
The Javan rusa is dark blackish brown and has a gray forehead. Its back is almost black, the underparts and inner thighs are yellowish brown. The abdomen is lighter brown, and the tail tuft is dark blackish brown. The hair is coarse and longer on the chest than on the remaining body. Its ears are wide and a little shorter than the head. The antlers are medium long and rather wide, the upper branch points forward. [3] Fawns are born without spots. Males are bigger than females; head-to-body length varies from 142 to 185 cm (4 ft 8 in to 6 ft 1 in), with a 20 cm (7.9 in) tail. Males weigh 152–160 kg (335–353 lb), female about 74 kg (163 lb). [4]
The Javan rusa natively occurs on the islands of Java, Bali and Timor in Indonesia. It has been introduced to Irian Jaya, Borneo, the Lesser Sunda Islands, Maluku, Sulawesi, Pohnpei, Mauritius, Réunion, Fiji, Tonga, Samoa, Vanuatu, the Solomon Islands, the Christmas Island, the Cocos Islands, Nauru, Mainland Australia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, New Britain, and New Ireland. [1] [5] The Javan rusa was introduced by the Dutch to New Guinea in the early 1900s. [6]
Since its introduction to the West Papuan lowlands, the species has become widely dispersed and is common in much of its new range. However its population in its native range has declined markedly by approximately 10,000 individuals in the past two decades and likely faces further decline. As a result it has been listed as vulnerable in its native range and was declared as a protected species under Indonesian law in 2018. [7]
During the 1980s and 1990s, protected areas such as national parks were used to control poaching and the effects of land conversion that destroyed grazing areas. However large numbers of Javan rusa died in Baluran National Park in Indonesia due to the loss of grazing area as a result of the invasive thorny acacia. [8]
Javan rusa are nocturnal, although they do graze during the day. [8] They are rarely seen in the open and are very difficult to approach due to their keen senses and cautious instincts.
The rusa deer is often found in small groups or pairs, although males are often seen alone. [7] When alarmed, a rusa stag lets out an extremely loud honk. This is an alarm call and alerts any other deer in the vicinity.[ citation needed ]
As with other deer species, Javan rusa mainly feed on grass, leaves, and fallen fruit. Most of their fluid requirements are met by the food they consume, so they hardly drink water. [8]
The main predators of the Javan rusa includes Javan leopard, Sunda clouded leopard, dhole, estuarine crocodile, reticulated python, and Komodo dragon on the islands of Rinca, Komodo, and Flores. [4] [9]
The Javan rusa mates around July and August, when stags contest by calling in a loud, shrill bark and dueling with the antlers. The doe gives birth to one or two calves after a gestation period of 8 months, at the start of spring. Calves are weaned at 6–8 months, and sexual maturity is attained at 3–5 years, depending on habitat conditions. Javan rusas live 15–20 years both in the wild and in captivity. [9] [4]
Flores is one of the Lesser Sunda Islands, a group of islands in the eastern half of Indonesia. Including the Komodo Islands off its west coast, the land area is 15,530.58 km2, and the population was 1,878,875 in the 2020 Census ; the official estimate as at mid 2021 was 1,897,550. The largest towns are Maumere and Ende. The name Flores is the Portuguese and Spanish word for "Flowers".
The Sunda Islands are a group of islands in the Malay Archipelago. They consist of the Greater Sunda Islands and the Lesser Sunda Islands.
Wallacea is a biogeographical designation for a group of mainly Indonesian islands separated by deep-water straits from the Asian and Australian continental shelves. Wallacea includes Sulawesi, the largest island in the group, as well as Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Sumba, Timor, Halmahera, Buru, Seram, and many smaller islands. The islands of Wallacea lie between the Sunda Shelf to the west, and the Sahul Shelf including Australia and New Guinea to the south and east. The total land area of Wallacea is 347,000 km2 (134,000 sq mi).
Komodo National Park is a national park in Indonesia located within the Lesser Sunda Islands in the border region between the provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and West Nusa Tenggara. The park includes the three larger islands Komodo, Padar and Rinca, and 26 smaller ones, with a total area of 1,733 km2. The national park was founded in 1980 to protect the Komodo dragon, the world's largest lizard. Later it was dedicated to protecting other species, including marine species. In 1991 the national park was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
Komodo is one of the 17,508 islands that comprise the Republic of Indonesia. The island is particularly notable as the habitat of the Komodo dragon, the largest lizard on Earth, which is named after the island. Komodo Island has a surface area of 390 square kilometres and a human population of over two thousand. The people of the island are descendants of former convicts who were exiled to the island and who have mixed with Bugis from Sulawesi. The people are primarily adherents of Islam but there are also Christian and Hindu congregations.
Antidesma is a genus of tropical plant in the family Phyllanthaceae formally described by Linnaeus in 1753. It is native to tropical Africa, S + E + SE Asia, Australia, and various oceanic islands. The greatest diversity occurs in Southeast Asia.
The sambar is a large deer native to the Indian subcontinent, South China and Southeast Asia that is listed as a vulnerable species on the IUCN Red List since 2008. Populations have declined substantially due to severe hunting, local insurgency, and industrial exploitation of habitat.
The Central Malayo-Polynesian languages (CMP) are a proposed branch in the Malayo-Polynesian subgroup of the Austronesian language family. The languages are spoken in the Lesser Sunda and Maluku Islands of the Banda Sea, in an area corresponding closely to the Indonesian provinces of East Nusa Tenggara and Maluku and the nation of East Timor, but with the Bima language extending to the eastern half of Sumbawa Island in the province of West Nusa Tenggara and the Sula languages of the Sula archipelago in the southwest corner of the province of North Maluku. The principal islands in this region are Sumbawa, Sumba, Flores, Timor, Buru, and Seram. The numerically most important languages are Bima, Manggarai of western Flores, Uab Meto of West Timor, and Tetum, the national language of East Timor.
The fauna of Indonesia is characterised by high levels of biodiversity and endemicity due to its distribution over a vast tropical archipelago. Indonesia divides into two ecological regions; western Indonesia which is more influenced by Asian fauna, and the east which is more influenced by Australasian species.
The Cervinae or the Old World deer, are a subfamily of deer. Alternatively, they are known as the plesiometacarpal deer, due to their ankle structure being different from the telemetacarpal deer of the Capreolinae.
The Philippine deer, also known as the Philippine sambar or Philippine brown deer, is a vulnerable deer species endemic to the Philippines. It was first described from introduced populations in the Mariana Islands, hence the specific name.
The Lesser Sundas deciduous forests is a tropical dry forest ecoregion in Indonesia. The ecoregion includes the islands of Lombok, Sumbawa, Komodo, Flores, and Alor, along with the many adjacent smaller islands.
The Timor and Wetar deciduous forests is a tropical dry forest ecoregion in Indonesia and East Timor. The ecoregion includes the islands of Timor, Wetar, Rote, Savu, and adjacent smaller islands.
Rusa is a genus of deer from southern Asia. They have traditionally been included in Cervus, and genetic evidence suggests this may be more appropriate than their present placement in a separate genus.
The Trans Fly savanna and grasslands are a lowland ecoregion on the south coast of the island of New Guinea in both the Indonesian and Papua New Guinean sides of the island. With their monsoon and dry season climate these grasslands are quite different from the tropical rainforest that covers most of the island and resemble the landscape of northern Australia which lies to the south.
Gembira Loka Zoo is a zoological garden located in Yogyakarta, Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia. Gembira Loka Zoo was opened in 1956 and comprises a botanical garden, orchid nursery, artificial lake, children's park, numerous bridges across the Gajahwong River, and a collection of approximately 470 animals, most notable of which are its Komodo dragons, orangutans, gibbons, and hippopotamus. The park is 54 acres in size.
The Lesser Sunda Islands or nowadays known as Nusa Tenggara Islands are an archipelago in Maritime Southeast Asia, north of Australia. Together with the Greater Sunda Islands to the west they make up the Sunda Islands. The islands are part of a volcanic arc, the Sunda Arc, formed by subduction along the Sunda Trench in the Java Sea. A bit more than 20 million people live on the islands. Etymologically, Nusa Tenggara means "Southeast Islands" from the words of nusa which means 'island' from Old Javanese language and tenggara means 'southeast'.
The Javan spitting cobra, also called Indonesian cobra or Komodo spitting cobra, is a species of cobra in the family Elapidae, found in the Lesser Sunda Islands of Indonesia, including Java, Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Komodo, and others.