A Javan Rhinoceros, Rhinoceros sondaicus, in Bali in 1839

摘要

During negotiations to open a new trading post on the Indonesian island of Bali in the 1830s, the governors of the Dutch Trade Association promised a live rhinoceros to the King of Klungklung. The animal, probably obtained in West Java, was shipped via Surabaya and arrived in the harbour of Kuta on 30 July 1839. Taken to Klungklung in East Bali, it was kept until it was used in a post-cremation ritual in 1842. The proceedings were described in a 'Song of the Killing of the Rhinoceros', which ascertains that the animal was killed in a pit during the ceremony. It was one of very few specimens of the Javan Rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) known in captivity.