Rhino

Rhinoceroses are large, herbivorous mammals identified by their characteristic horned snouts. The word "rhinoceros"
comes from the Greek "rhino" (nose) and "ceros" (horn). There are five species and 11 subspecies of rhino; some
have two horns, while others have one.

Rhinos can grow to be over 6 feet tall and more than 11 feet in length – that is big!

How do you think that rhinos communicate with other rhinos? Interestingly, it is through their dung. Each rhino’s
dung has a unique smell, and identifies its owner. From rhino poo you can also tell if that rhino is young or old, male
or female. Dung is quite useful for marking a rhino’s territory too, just like dogs like to do. Rhino’s communicate by
doing a poo!

Rhinos’ eyesight isn’t great – they’re unable to see a motionless person at a distance of 30m – they mainly rely on
their strong sense of smell.

Rhinos can often be seen rolling around in mud, giving themselves a protective 'mud coat’ to keep them cool, stop
insects biting and get rid of any parasites.
Relative to their large body size, rhinoceros have small brains.
There are two major differences between white rhinos and a black rhinos.

• White rhinos have flat, wide, and broad mouth with square lips. They are called
“grazers” since they eat grass from the ground.

• Black rhinos are called “browsers” because they have beak shaped lips that they use to
grasp leaves and twigs from trees when eating.

Despite their huge size, rhinos can run or charge very fast.

Despite their huge size and weight, rhinos can run or charge up to 30 – 40 mph (48 – 64
km/h).

The fastest human can run about 15 miles per hour. So if a rhino ever charges at you,
head for the nearest tree and climb it since you can’t out run it!
Why Rhinos are most
endangered?
Habitat loss is the other major threat to rhino populations. As more and more land is cleared for agriculture there is less available
space for rhino to thrive in. Rhino need a large area in which to feed and roam. If rhino populations end up fragmented, with no
safe ‘corridors’ to travel through, chances of successful breeding and recovery will further decline.

There are five rhino species surviving today – Black, White, Greater One-Horned (or Indian), Javan and Sumatran, and several
sub-species within these groups.

• There are three species of rhino in Asia, two of which are “critically endangered,” the Javan and Sumatran rhino. There are
only around 72 Javan rhino left in the world and less than 100 Sumatran rhino. The Javan rhino is one of the rarest large
mammals on earth, and was declared extinct in Vietnam in 2011. The Greater One-Horned rhino has increased in numbers up
to 3,550 from only 200 in 1900. The third Asian species is listed as “vulnerable”. Numbers have increased due to successful
conservation efforts, though Asian rhino species are still poached for its horn in India and Nepal.

• The two remaining rhino species are found in Africa. The black rhino is “critically endangered” with only around 5,000
remaining in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, and Kenya. Numbers of Black rhino dropped by a staggering 96%
between 1970 and 1995 but thanks to concerted rhino conservation efforts, their numbers are now rising.

• White rhino are classified as ”‘near threatened”. There are now around 20,000 living across Africa, yet the increase in poaching
levels is once again threatening these populations.
They are five rhino species