By: Natalia Trita Agnika

"Leuweungna hejo, masyarakatna ngejo!" shouted children playing giant snakes and ladders with WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile at the World Rhino Day 2017 event in Cilintang, Ujung Kulon National Park (TNUK) area last Friday (22/09). The phrase, which more or less means "the forest is sustainable, the people are prosperous", is a hope that by preserving the forest, people can still eat or fulfill their needs.

WWF-Indonesia's Panda Mobile was present at the commemoration of World Rhino Day to deliver conservation messages to children who live in the area closest to the Javan Rhino's habitat. Through a giant snakes and ladders game, the children learned that green forests and the presence of trees are very important for the availability of water. "Apart from humans, animals that live in the forest also need water to survive," Sani Firmansyah, Supporter Center WWF-Indonesia explained in Sundanese so that it could be better understood by the people around TNUK. The snakes and ladders game was a lot of fun. Even the youth and mothers also played.

In addition to the games, the Panda Mobile team also delivered conservation messages through movies screened in the booth area of WWF-Indonesia Ujung Kulon Program. The children seemed to be seriously listening to a movie about poachers and a movie about endangered rare animals.

The commemoration of World Rhino Day 2017 was held by the Ujung Kulon National Park Center as an effort to encourage the participation of various levels of society in the conservation of Javan Rhinos, which currently only have 67 individuals left. On the occasion, Director General of KSDAE Ir. Wiratno, M.Sc released the results of monitoring Javan Rhinos in TNUK in 2016. A total of 67 Javan Rhino individuals consisting of 37 males and 30 females were recorded in TNUK. Recordings of four Javan Rhino calves that were allegedly born in 2016 were also good news delivered. The four rhino calves were named Irna, Mayang, Prabu and Manggala.

The series of World Rhino Day 2017 commemorations were also enlivened by various activities, namely the "Explore the Rhino's Home" Cross-Country Race, the signing of a role model for TNUK, and planting trees that are rhino food. As a form of support for Javan Rhino conservation efforts, WWF-Indonesia through Conservation Director Arnold Sitompul handed over assistance in the form of a camera trap to the TNUK Center.

During the event, various exhibitions promoting conservation work were held, which were enlivened by WWF-Indonesia Ujung Kulon Program, Trashbag Community, Friend of Rhino, and YABI. Various community empowerment programs also participated, including the Conservation Farmer Group, Pokdarwis Sumur, Ciwisata Group, Tukik House, and Hanjuang Honey Group. A typical art of Ujung Kulon in the form of Lesung Dance performed by local residents also made the commemoration of World Rhino Day 2017 more lively. The dance is a symbol of gratitude to the Earth for providing various natural products.