The Rhinoceros: All About this Fascinating Animal

The Rhinoceros belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family and includes five remaining species. Their name itself comes from means "horned nose" in Greek. While most people have heard of the White Rhinoceros and perhaps even the Black Rhino, there are three other species that are almost unheard of. They include the Indian Rhino, the Javan Rhino and the Sumatran Rhino. All of them are odd-toed ungulates, meaning they have an odd number of toes. Each species are endangered while three are considered critically endangered.

All rhinos have certain common characteristics. Every rhino has very thick skin, anywhere from a half inch to 2 inches thick, and a relatively small brain. Members of each species can easily weigh well over 2000 pounds, making them some of the heaviest land animals in the world. Every rhinoceros has either one or two horns on its snout, depending on the species and all are strictly herbivores. Sadly, every rhino is also in danger of being destroyed for its highly coveted horn. Rhinos have excellent senses of hearing and smell but terrible vision. On average, they live for around 60 years. Rhinoceros have a large repertoire of different noises used to communicate to each other and generally live around 40 years. Its only predator is man. Let's take a closer look at each species for a better understanding of these marvelous animals.

As stated earlier, the most commonly known rhino is the white rhino. Its name is misleading, since the animal is grey to light brown. The Dutch South Africans called this animal "weit rhino", which meant "wide rhino" and referenced its wide lips used for grazing. When English speaking people heard the name they mistook it for "white rhino" and the name has stuck ever since. Its Latin name however, is Ceratotherium simum. This species is second in size only to the elephant and can weigh over 6500 pounds and stand nearly 6 feet at the shoulder. It has two horns, the larger of which can span nearly five feet long. Another distinct feature of the white rhino is the hump on its neck. There are currently about 14,000 white rhinos left in the wild, making them the most abundant of all rhino species. White rhinos generally live in savannah regions with access to water, mud and shade. They are also divided into Northern and Southern sub-species.

The second animal in this family is the black rhino, or Diceros bicornis. Again, the name is misleading since the white and black rhino are very similar in color. Like the white rhino, the black is also divided into sub-species. They include the South-central, South-western, East African and West African rhino. Each of these sub-species have developed certain characteristics enabling them to adapt to the climate of their region. Adults are noticeably smaller than their white rhino cousins, standing just slightly shorter on average but weighing from 1700 to 4000 pounds. It has more of a pointed mouth, developed for eating foliage rather than plains grazing. It also has pointed teeth which are not observed in white rhino populations. Finally, the black rhino has 84 chromosomes, two more than other rhino species and more than any other living mammal. The black rhinoceros has two horns, with the larger ranging from 1.5 feet long up to 4.5 feet long. The black prefer heavily wooded areas to forage in, usually alone. Currently, there are less than 3,500 of these beautiful creatures left in the wild. Poachers have steadily reducing their number, to harvest their horn, despite governmental efforts. The horn itself is made of keratin and believed by many backward societies to have certain effects.

With fewer than 2,500 specimens in the wild, the Indian Rhinoceros is difficult to find. It's Latin name is Rhinoceros unicornis and it is sometimes called the Great One-horned Rhinoceros. Once roaming India, Pakistan, Burma, Nepal and China, this rare animal is now found in small pockets of Nepal and northern India. The Indian rhino is very similar in size to the white rhino, but its skin is a pearly-brown and covered with hard bumps. Unlike the black or white rhino, this species has a single horn that can reach lengths in excess of three feet.

Rhinoceros sondaicus, also called the Javan Rhinoceros lives in Indonesia and Vietnam, although current counts list only about 60 remaining animals in the wild. Once, this animal had a range that extended throughout India, Burma, Malaysia and Sumatra. They stand about 5.5 feet tall at the shoulder and weigh between 1,900 and 4,400 pounds. Its skin lays in folds, giving it the appearance of having armor draped over it. The single horn of the male Javan rhino however, only reaches around 10 inches in length. These nearly extinct rhinos like to graze in floodplains and muddy areas as well as rain forests. Unfortunately, very little else is known about the rarest species of rhinoceros.

Lastly, we come to the smallest of all rhinoceros species. The Sumatran rhinoceros or Dicerorhinus sumatrensis currently numbers around 300 remaining members. Standing just over four feet in height and weighing between 1,500 and 2,200 pounds, the Sumatran has reddish-brown skin, covered in a fair amount of fur, and two horns. The larger of these horns can measure from 9.5 inches up to 31 inches. This tiniest of rhinos makes it home in the mountains of Borneo and Sumatra. The Sumatran rhinoceros, like all other species of rhino, face extinction from poachers and habitat encroaching.

References:

1. Cerde�o, Esperanza (1995), "Cladistic Analysis of the Family Rhinocerotidae (Perissodactyla)", Novitates (American Museum of Natural History) (no. 3143)2. Emslie, R. and Brooks, M. (1999), African Rhino. Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan., IUCN/SSC African Rhino Specialist Group. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland and Cambridge, UK