Rhinoceros | Facts, Size, Habitat, Weight, Lifespan

What are rhinos?

Despite its ancient appearance—the rhinoceros has a history stretching back to the Miocene period—rhinos are actually mammals just like the rest of us. The black rhino and the white rhino are two separate kinds of rhinoceros found in Africa. The white rhino, often known as a square-lipped rhino, gets its name from the Dutch word for “wide” (weit). Its large face, hump on its neck, and grayish-gray colouration are all hallmarks of this animal. Rhinos with thick, hairless grey hides are known as hooked-lipped or black rhinos. There are two horns on each rhino.

Rhinoceros | Facts, Size, Habitat, Weight, Lifespan. A rhinoceros, commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. It is the only living family in the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.

Rhinoceros Facts

  • Conservation Status: Critically Endangered
  • Size: About 60 in. at the shoulder
  • Diet: Herbivorous
  • Scientific name: Black: Diceros bicornis, White: Ceratotherium simum
  • Life span: 35 to 40 years
  • Gestation: 16 months
  • Weight: Black: 1 to 1.5 tn. (2,000 to 3,000 lb.), White: More than 2 tn. (4,000+ lb.)
  • Habitat: Grassland and open savanna
  • Predators: Humans

Challenges

  • Rhinos have become victims of organized crime.

Only humans pose a threat to mature black or white rhinos in the wild. Killing rhinos for their horns is a common practice. Asian countries have a high demand for rhino horn due to its ancient medicinal and decorative carving uses. Rhino horn has been promoted as a remedy for erectile dysfunction, cancer, and hangovers. Their horns are really composed of keratin, the same substance that is found in human hair and nails; thus, they are not real horns. Actually, chewing on your fingernails is just as beneficial as rhino horn in healing cancer.

  • Habitat loss is also a major threat to rhinos.

The habitats of rhinos are being progressively destroyed by human activities such as urbanisation, logging, farming, highways, and towns.

Behaviors

  • Some rhinos are more introverted than others.

Since rhinos often share feeding grounds, wallows, and water holes, it is not uncommon for their home ranges to overlap. While white rhinos are more gregarious, black rhinos prefer to spend their time alone.

  • They can’t see very well.

Rhinos’ vision problems could explain why they occasionally charge without cause. Having said that, they have excellent hearing and smell.

Diet

Rhinos tend to live where they like to eat.

Nomadic browsers include black rhinos. It feeds on a wide variety of plant and tree parts, including leaves, buds, and shoots, using its triangular upper lip that culminates in a gripping point. Its natural habitats include thick, woody vegetation. In savannas, you can find watering holes, mud wallows, shade trees, and grasses that white rhinos love to graze on.

Habitats

Rhinos in Africa come in two distinct varieties: black and white. White rhinos were reintroduced to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, in addition to their natural habitat of South Africa. A few countries in West Africa, including Kenya, Zambia, and Côte d’Ivoire, now have southern white rhinos. There are just four countries that are home to more than 98% of the world’s black rhinos: Kenya, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe. Forty percent of the world’s black rhinos call South Africa home. Black rhinos can be found in small numbers in the area that stretches from Cameroon to Kenya.