Meru Betiri National Park is located in the province of East Java, Indonesia. It covers an area of 580 square kilometers (220 square miles), with 8.45 square kilometers (3.26 square miles) being marine areas. The beaches of the park are nesting grounds for endangered turtle species, including the leatherback sea turtle, hawksbill sea turtle, green sea turtle, and olive ridley sea turtle.

Geography and climate

Meru Betiri National Park has different types of land, ranging from flat coastal areas to highlands that reach almost 1,200 metres (3,900 ft). The highest mountains in the park include Mount Gamping (538 m), Mount Butak (609 m), Mount Sukamade Atas (801 m), Mount Gendong (840 m), Mount Mandilis (844 m), and Mount Betiri (1,192 m). Along the coast, the land is mostly hilly or mountainous. Only a few flat, sandy coastal areas exist, mostly in the west, such as Rajegwesi Beach, Sukamade Beach, Permisan Beach, Meru Beach, and Bandealit Beach. Rivers in the park include the Sukamade River (a river that flows year-round), the Permisan River, the Meru River, and the Sekar Pisang River, which flows toward the south coast.

The Meru Betiri area is affected by monsoon winds. From November to March, winds from the west bring rain to the region, while the dry season occurs from April to October. On average, the area receives between 2,300 and 4,000 millimetres (160 inches) of rain each year. This includes 4 months of dry weather and 7 months of wet weather.

Vegetation

Meru Betiri National Park has five different types of plant life because of its varied landscape:

• Coastal plant life is found near Sukamade Bay and Meru Bay. This includes plants such as Barringtonia asiatica, Calophyllum inophyllum, Hibiscus tiliaceus, Terminalia catappa, and Pandanus tectorius.
• Mangrove plant life is found on the eastern side of Rajegwesi Bay, near the mouths of the Lembu and Karang Tambak Rivers, Meru Bay, and the Sukamade Coast. The main plants here are Rhizophora, Avicennia, and Bruguiera. At the mouth of the Sukamade River, there is Nypa fruticans.
• Swamp plant life is found behind the mangrove forest of Sukamade. Some tree species here include Manilkara kauki, Gluta renghas, Alstonia scholaris, and Sterculia foetida.
• Lowland tropical rain forest includes tree species such as Pterospermum, Tetrameles nudiflora, Ficus variegata, Diospyros cauliflora, Aglaia variegata, Dracontomelon mangiferum, Bischofia javanica, Dysoxylum gaudichaudianum, Pseudobombax septenatum, Litsea, and Plectocomia elongata.
• Rheophytic plant life is found in wetland areas, such as the Sukamade region. The main plant here is Saccharum spontaneum.

A rare parasitic plant called Rafflesia zollingeriana was rediscovered in Meru Betiri National Park.

Fauna

Meru Betiri National Park is home to many protected animals, including 29 types of mammals and 180 types of birds. Some of these animals are the banteng, Javan leopard, wild boar, long-tailed macaque, Sumatran dhole, Javanese flying squirrel, leopard cat, Javan muntjac, and green peafowl. The park’s beaches are a place where leatherback turtles, hawksbill turtles, green turtles, and olive ridley turtles lay their eggs.

Meru Betiri National Park was once the only place where the Javan tiger (Panthera tigris sondaica) lived. This species is now considered extinct, with the last recorded sighting in 1976. In 1997, researchers found tiger paw prints measuring 26–28 centimeters (10–11 inches). Because of this, the Forestry Ministry began using camera traps in 2011 to check if any Javan tigers still exist.

Conservation

The Meru Betiri Forest area was made a protected forest by the Dutch Colonial Government in 1931. In 1972, the Meru Betiri Protected Forest (500 km²) was established as a wildlife sanctuary, focused on protecting the home of the endangered Javan tiger. In 1982, the sanctuary was expanded to its current size of 580 km², which includes a marine area of 845 hectares. In 1982, the sanctuary was named a National Park, and this designation was officially confirmed in 1997.