Although rhinos live in nearby large islands like Borneo, Java and Sumatra, they are generally thought to have never lived in New Guinea despite various anecdotal reports.
In 1875, lieutenant Sidney Smith reported that while he was surveying the north coast of New Guinea, he came across droppings he recognized as that of a rhino, an animal he saw many times in Java. No animal native to New Guinea is also large enough to leave a dung pile of the size Sidney Smith claimed.
That same year, German zoologist Adolf Meyer claimed that locals told him of an enormous six foot tall “horned pig.” He attempted to get the locals to find him one, but they refused, claiming it was too dangerous. Many locals up into the 2000s have recalled hearing rhino calls in the Jungle.
Some have lumped various reports of Papuan rhinos with another large, horned cryptid in New Guinea, the devil pig.