White Rhino. Indian rhinos: description, habitat, photo Where do rhinos live and what do they eat

Answer from ІFRA[guru]
There are five varieties of rhinoceros in the world, two of which - black and white rhinoceros - live in Africa. These rhinos have two horns. The remaining three species of rhinoceros live in Asia. The Indian and Javanese rhinos are one-horned, and the Sumatrian rhinoceros is two-horned. The body of this animal is large and heavy, so it moves very slowly. Rhinos don't hunt, and maybe that's why they don't pay attention to their neighbors. So the "horned fat men" eat only plant foods. This huge beast is very difficult to unbalance. But if you tease, then do not expect mercy. The rhinoceros scatters, reaching speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour, and tries to hit its opponent with a sharp horn. Sumatrian rhinos are considered the smallest, weigh about half a ton, and reach 120-130 centimeters at the withers. The largest in this family are white rhinos. Their weight can reach three and a half tons, and their height at the withers is almost two meters. The huge body rests on four short three-toed paws. Rhinos are considered ungulates. Therefore, they are related to horses. The horn sometimes grows to very large sizes. The length of the largest known was 158.75 centimeters. There are also rhinoceros unicorns and bicorns. The first horn is usually located above the nostrils or slightly behind them, and the second grows exactly behind the first, that is, approximately at eye level. The horns of the animal are nothing more than compressed tufts of very hard and stiff wool. The body of the rhinoceros is smooth, devoid of hair, with the exception of skin areas near the ears and, of course, the tip of the tail. The skin is very strong and thick. Rhinos do not like to gather in large groups. Therefore, they prefer to travel alone. But sometimes they still live in small families. Only one cub can be born to a female at once. The baby is born a year and a half after the mating season and then remains with its mother for seven whole years. In captivity, rhinos live to be fifty years old.

Answer from vvts[expert]
in Africa

Answer from tatiana kulikova[guru]
in Africa

Answer from tatyana yakimova[guru]
In Africa!

Answer from Lena Kulichenko[guru]
in Africa!

Answer from Hurts[guru]
In Africa

Answer from Yoibirtsev Alexey[guru]
IN THE RHINO HOUSING (BERLOG) or in the rhinoceros country :))))))

Answer from Goryacheva Ekaterina[guru]
There are five varieties of rhinoceros in the world, two of which - black and white rhinoceros - live in Africa. Such rhinos have two horns. The remaining three species of rhinos live in Asia. The Indian and Javanese rhinos are one-horned, and the Sumatrian rhinoceros is two-horned. The body of this animal is large and heavy, so it moves very slowly. Rhinos don't hunt, and maybe that's why they don't pay attention to their neighbors. So the "horned fat men" eat only plant foods. This huge beast is very difficult to unbalance. But if you tease, then do not expect mercy. The rhinoceros scatters, reaching speeds of up to 48 kilometers per hour, and tries to hit its opponent with a sharp horn. Sumatrian rhinos are considered the smallest, weigh about half a ton, and reach 120-130 centimeters at the withers. The largest in this family are white rhinos. Their weight can reach three and a half tons, and their height at the withers is almost two meters. The huge body rests on four short three-toed paws. Rhinos are considered ungulates. Therefore, they are related to horses. The horn sometimes grows to very large sizes. The length of the largest known was 158.75 centimeters. There are also rhinoceros unicorns and bicorns. The first horn is usually located above the nostrils or slightly behind them, and the second grows exactly behind the first, that is, approximately at eye level. The horns of the animal are nothing more than compressed tufts of very hard and stiff wool. The body of the rhinoceros is smooth, devoid of hair, with the exception of skin areas near the ears and, of course, the tip of the tail. The skin is very strong and thick. Rhinos do not like to gather in large companies. Therefore, they prefer to travel alone. But sometimes they still live in small families. Only one cub can be born to a female at once. The baby is born a year and a half after the mating season and then remains with its mother for seven whole years. In captivity, rhinos live to be fifty years old.

Answer from Iry Ustinov[guru]
Two species, black and white, in Africa, one species in Sumatra, this island is like that.

Answer from Lyalya Devil[guru]
With us, they bring us cosmetics and books. Also in Kyiv there is a book club and Post-Shopping from the same category.

Everyone knows that the elephant is the largest creature on earth. Who, then, is given second place in the list of giant animals? It is rightfully occupied by the Indian rhinoceros, which among its relatives is the unsurpassed leader in size. This inhabitant of Asia is called a one-horned or armored rhinoceros.

The one-horned heavyweight impresses with its huge size and power. When you look at him, it seems that you see a native of the ancient world. In appearance, a clumsy, clumsy and slow giant in armor, if necessary, is able to reach speeds of up to 40 km / h. He has an excellent reaction and in moments of danger he can move very quickly. An amazing Indian creation is such a miracle of nature, what does it eat, how does it reproduce? You will find answers to these questions in this article.

What does an Indian rhinoceros look like?

The armored Indian rhinoceros, the photo of which you can see in the article, as mentioned earlier, is a huge beast. The weight of adults can reach 2.5 tons or even more. In height, males grow up to two meters at the shoulders. Females are smaller and heavier. Their skin is a fold located on large areas of the body and which, by the way, is a characteristic feature of this species. From a distance, they look like they are wearing armor, hence the name of these animals.

The skin of the rhinoceros is naked, gray-pinkish in color, although it is almost impossible to distinguish this color. The thing is that Indian rhinos just love to "swim" in puddles. From such baths, the body of the animal is covered with a layer of dirt.

Thick skin plates bear knobby swellings. And on the shoulders there is a deep fold, bent back. There are slight tassels of coarse hair on the ears and tail.

The eyesight of rhinos is very weak and their eyes are small. They usually look with a sleepy look with an offended expression. And the horn, of course, serves as the main decoration of the animal. It can reach a length of 50-60 cm, but in most representatives of this species it does not exceed 25-30 cm. In females, this decoration is more like a pointed bump on the nose.

For defense against enemies, the horn is not the only weapon of rhinos. Their lower jaw is armed with the most powerful incisors, with which the beast can inflict terrible wounds on the enemy.

Where to find the Indian Rhino

The European colonization of Asia led to the appearance of white-skinned hunters with guns in the area. Indian rhinoceros turned out to be a tasty hunting trophy. The uncontrolled shooting of these animals has caused the almost complete disappearance of powerful beauties from their free habitats. You can now see them only in the reserves. Also, a small number of these animals are found in places that are hard to reach for humans.

The historical habitat of the armored rhinoceros is very large. But in the modern world, these giants live only in southern Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal and East India. In all these territories, these animals live in reserves, where they are strictly protected. In the wild without supervision, one-horned giants are found in the Pakistani province of Punjab, in the remote wilderness of Bangladesh and the adjacent regions of India.

Lifestyle in the wild

Indian rhinos lead a solitary lifestyle. You can’t exactly call them sociable and friendly. You can see two rhinos side by side in one place only when they bask in the water, taking baths. But as soon as these giants come ashore, the friendly mood disappears, and it is replaced by aggression and hostility. Often, after a bath hour, animals arrange fights among themselves, while receiving serious wounds and scars for life.

Each rhinoceros zealously defends its territory (about 4000 m²), which it marks with huge piles of manure. On the site of the animal there must be a small lake or at least a puddle. An ideal option when the beast owns part of the shore of a large reservoir. It is interesting that such a large animal can swim well and is able to swim even very wide rivers.

Indian rhinos “speak” not at all expressively, but these giants have their own communication rules. If the animal is alarmed by something, it emits a loud snore. When the animals graze peacefully, they grunt from time to time with pleasure. The same sounds are heard from the mother, who calls her cubs. During the mating season, the female can be heard and recognized by special whistling sounds. If the rhinoceros gets into a hopeless situation, is injured or caught, then it roars loudly.

What do rhinos eat

The one-horned rhinoceros is a herbivore. Representatives of this species prefer to go out to the pasture in the morning and in the evening, when the heat is not so annoying. During the sun, they take mud baths, bathe in lakes or reservoirs. Often the meal and water procedures coincide, the animals feed right in the water, without which they simply cannot exist.

The menu of the Indian rhinoceros consists of elephant grass and young reed shoots. Animals get such food with the help of the upper keratinized lip. Aquatic plants are also included in the diet of these giants.

reproduction

The first time a female rhinoceros participates in mating games at the age of three. It is she who pursues the male during the rut. It happens to rhinos every one and a half months. The male is ready for breeding only from 7-8 years.

The female's pregnancy lasts 16.5 months. The cub is born only one, but rather large, its weight ranges from 60 to 65 kg. It looks more like a pig than a rhinoceros - just as pink and even with the same muzzle. Only now all the characteristic outgrowths and folds, except for the horn, give out in the baby belonging to the kingdom of rhinos.

population

In captivity, Indian rhinos can live up to 70 years; in the wild, such centenarians are not found. Compared to the Javanese and Sumatran, the armored rhinoceros is considered a fairly prosperous species, there are about 2,500 of its representatives.

Moreover, their number is steadily increasing. But still, despite the apparent well-being, the Indian rhinoceros (the red book confirms this) is considered a vulnerable species and must be protected.

These large animals have been known to us since childhood, as typical inhabitants of Africa. white rhino recognizable for its outgrowth on the front of the head, in fact on the nose. Because of this feature, its name comes from. Due to their unusual nature, rhinoceros horns were mistakenly attributed in ancient times with medicinal properties that are not actually there. But from this legend, many of the animals are still suffering from poachers. Because of this, now rhinos can be found mainly only in nature reserves or in national parks.

Origin of the species and description

The entire family of rhinos in the modern classification is divided into two subfamilies and 61 genera, of which 57 are extinct. Moreover, their extinction occurred tens of millions of years ago, and therefore has nothing to do with human activity. Four living genera form five species, the separation of which occurred about 10-20 million years ago. The closest relatives are tapirs, horses and zebras.

The largest representative of the rhinos is the white rhinoceros, which has the largest number among them. The name has nothing to do with color, and most likely comes from the Boer word wijde, literally meaning "wide", which was too consonant with the English word white - white. The real observed color of a rhinoceros depends on the color of the ground on which it walks, since the animal loves to wallow in the mud.

Video: White Rhino

The main distinguishing feature that distinguishes all rhinos from other animals is the presence of a horn. The white rhino has two. The first, the longest, grows on the nasal bone. Its length can reach one and a half meters. The second is slightly smaller, located on the frontal part of the head. But at the same time, the forehead on the head of the animal is not so pronounced.

Despite its hardness, the horn does not consist of bone tissue and not of horny substance (like the horns of artiodactyls), but of a dense protein - keratin. This same protein is found in small amounts in human hair, nails, and porcupine quills. A horn develops from the epidermis of the skin. If damaged at a young age, the horn can grow anew. In adults, the damaged horn is not restored.

The body of the rhinoceros is massive, the legs are three-toed, short, but very thick. At the end of each toe there is a small hoof. Because of this, rhino foot prints are easily recognizable. Outwardly, its footprint is similar to a clover, since the animal, when walking, relies on all three fingers. In terms of its size, the white rhinoceros ranks fourth among land animals, yielding the first three places to representatives of elephants.

Appearance and features

A distinctive feature of the white rhinoceros is its wide (usually at least 20 cm) and rather flat upper lip. For example, in a black rhinoceros, this lip is slightly pointed and not so pronounced. There are no incisors on the upper jaw, so the lip partially replaces them. Canines are completely reduced.

The animal itself is quite massive. The mass of an adult individual can reach four tons or more. The height at the shoulders or at the withers is usually from one and a half to two meters. The length of the white rhino is in the range from two and a half to four meters. The neck is very broad, but short. The head is massive and large, slightly rectangular in shape. The back is concave. It sometimes shows a kind of hump, which is a skin fold. The belly is sagging.

The skin of a rhinoceros is very dense and durable. The thickness of the skin in some places can reach one and a half centimeters. Hair on the skin is practically absent. Only in the area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe ears there are bristles, and also the tail ends in a tuft of dense hair. The ears themselves are quite long, and the animal is able to move them and rotate them in different directions. The hearing of the animal is sensitive, but it plays a secondary role. The vision of the white rhino is also not the best - it is short-sighted, so it usually relies on its sense of smell.

Interesting fact: rhinos have a bad memory. Many zoologists believe that this is directly related to poor eyesight compared to other animals.

The lifespan of rhinos is quite long, about 35–40 years in nature, and even longer in captivity.

Where does the white rhino live?

In the wild, white rhinos live exclusively in Africa. Until recently, the habitat of the white rhinoceros was divided into two isolated parts - northern and southern, and the areas are isolated from each other and quite remote.

The southern part is located in the countries of South Africa:

• Mozambique;
• Namibia;
• Zimbabwe;
• southeastern part of Angola.

The northern range used to be in the territory of the Congo, Kenya and South Sudan. In 2018, the last of the males belonging to the northern subspecies died. To date, only two females have survived, so the actual northern white rhinoceros can be considered exterminated. In the southern part, everything is much safer, and there are still quite a lot of animals there.

The white rhinoceros inhabits mainly dry savannahs, but is also found in small wooded areas, with clearings on which stunted grass grows. Prefers mostly flat terrain. White rhinos are well adapted to dry continental climates. They endure the desert area, although they try not to enter such areas. It is believed that a prerequisite for the residence of a rhinoceros is the presence of a nearby reservoir.

On hot days, rhinos like to stay in the water for a long time or take mud baths, less often they hide in the shade of trees. Therefore, sometimes white rhinos are found near swamps. And much earlier they even came across in coastal areas. During a drought, white rhinos are able to make long transitions over considerable distances. They do not like enclosed areas. Like other inhabitants of the savannas, the presence of space is important.

What does the white rhino eat?

The rhino is herbivorous. Despite its menacing appearance and not quite calm character, it feeds exclusively on vegetation and pasture. Living in the savannah, it is not always possible to find a sufficient amount of lush vegetation, so the digestive system of these animals is adapted to absolutely any kind of plant.

It can be:

• branches of shrubs or trees;
• all kinds of herbs;
• low growing leaves;
• thorny bushes;
• aquatic vegetation;
• tree roots and bark.

They have to absorb food quite quickly. Every day, in order to get enough, they have to eat about 50 kg of various vegetation.

The rhino meal takes place in the morning and late in the evening. They are afraid of overheating in the hot sun, so they spend the day in puddles, ponds, mud or the shade of trees. Rhinos are large animals and need to drink plenty of water every day. For this, they are able to overcome huge distances of several tens of kilometers. Usually they try to recapture a territory with a reservoir for themselves, where they will go daily to drink.

In general, roads are laid across the territory of the rhinoceros, along which he moves daily, either to a meal, or to a watering hole, or to rest in the mud or shade. The thick skin of rhinoceros allows them not only to consume thorny plants, which are always present in abundance, because no other animal claims them, but also to live and move calmly through the same plants, being so clumsy.

Also, the white rhinoceros can use its horn and break tree branches in the way. If there is not enough food in his territory, then he goes to explore other spaces for food and can leave his territory.

Features of character and lifestyle

At first glance, a rhinoceros may seem slow and clumsy due to its size, but if necessary, it can quickly accelerate and run some distance at a speed of about 40 km / h. Of course, he will not be able to keep high speed for a long time, but it looks very intimidating.

Rhinos spend their days alone in their territories, which they choose once and for all life. Only very rarely can it happen that the lack of food will force the rhinoceros to look for new lands.

It is also very rare for rhinos to form small groups, usually a species of white rhinoceros, but mostly solitary. The mother, having taught the cubs the basic things of life, kicks him out of her territory and again remains alone.

The rhinoceros is basically a nocturnal animal. They can absorb vegetation all night long, and during the day they sleep in mud or a pond. Some species prefer to be active both during the day and at night. The skin of rhinos, although very thick, can also dry out and burn in the sun, and they are also tormented by insects.

Rhinos are helped to fight insects by birds that literally settle on their backs. These are drag and buffalo starlings. They not only feed on insects and mites from the back of the animal, but they can also tell you about danger. According to some reports, insects are eaten from the back of a rhino not only by birds, but also by turtles, which are just waiting for the rhinoceros to sit down in a puddle with them.

In general, rhinos get along peacefully with all other animal species: zebras, giraffes, elephants, antelopes, buffaloes, and even predators who have little interest in adult rhinos. For this reason, rhinos sleep very soundly, and do not think about danger at all. At this point, you can easily sneak up on them and go unnoticed.

Interesting fact: If the rhinoceros senses danger, he will most likely rush to attack first. Therefore, this animal is dangerous for humans. Moreover, the most dangerous is a female with a cub - she will be very aggressive precisely because she will protect her baby with all her might.

Social structure and reproduction

Rhinos are not social animals at all. They live alone, both males and females. They come together only during the mating season. For some time, females live with their cubs, but then drive them away, and they also learn to survive on their own.

Male rhinos physiologically reach sexual maturity at about seven years of age. But they do not immediately get into sexual contact with the female - first they need to take possession of their own territories. One male rhinoceros owns a territory of about 50 square kilometers, and sometimes even more. The female has a much smaller territory - only 10-15 square kilometers.

Rhinoceroses mark their territories by leaving their own excrement on it and trampling vegetation in certain places. Sometimes they tear small holes with their feet. Within their own territory, rhinos tread paths, there are main ones, there are secondary ones. Usually the main trails connect places of subsistence with places of lying and shade during sunny hours. Rhinos prefer not to trample the remaining territory in order to save as much pasture as possible.

The mating season can occur at any time of the year, but in the spring there is more often an increased attention to the opposite sex in these animals. Although they have a rut every one and a half months. Females and males seem to pursue each other, thus showing interest. Sometimes they can enter into a fight or a game, it is completely impossible to understand what is happening between them. A female can drive away a male she does not like, and only the most persistent and persistent get the opportunity to impregnate her and pass on their genes to offspring.

The gestation period lasts 460 days, then only one cub weighing from 25 to 60 kg is born. After a few hours, he walks independently and explores the world without leaving his mother. The lactation period lasts up to a year, although the little rhinoceros begins to eat vegetation from the third month. After the mother stops feeding her cub with milk, he still stays with her for another year or a year and a half.

Interesting fact: The female is able to give birth every 4-6 years. If she has a new cub, then she drives away the older one and gives all her attention and care to the newborn.

Natural enemies of white rhinos

White rhinos have no clear enemies among the animals that live side by side with them. Rhinos are already very large animals for predators. Therefore, if they dare to attack, then in almost 100% of cases they themselves die as a result of fights. However, as with other species, predators can pose some danger to white rhino cubs, for the simple reason that they can easily deal with small individuals.

It also happens that the rhinoceros enters the battle with. In this case, the rhinoceros is more likely to be defeated, especially if the elephant manages to injure him with his tusks. Conflicts between these two animals are rare and more often due to mutual misunderstanding, but such cases are well known.

They can also attack rhinos, they can’t cope with large individuals, but the cubs are easily dragged to the bottom, which is sometimes used.

The most terrible enemy of the rhinoceros was and is a man. Since its discovery, the species of white rhinoceros has been almost completely exterminated. They were saved only by the fact that not all regions at that time were accessible to man. Now, despite the protection of white rhinos at the legislative level, animals are still killed for poaching purposes.

Population and species status

Today, the only subspecies of the white rhino is the southern white rhino. This subspecies is considered to be Near Threatened. In the late 1800s, the subspecies was considered extinct, and literally thirty-odd years after discovery. But soon white rhinos were again found in remote areas inaccessible to humans in the valley of the Umfolozi River (on the territory of South Africa). In 1897, they were taken under protection, which eventually led to a gradual restoration of the population. This made it possible, among other things, to settle rhinos in many national parks, and even transport some individuals to zoos in Europe and America. Very slow population growth is associated with a too long breeding period.

Now the species is not threatened with extinction. Moreover, hunting for white rhinos is even allowed, although it is heavily quota-bound. Due to quotas, a mining license is quite expensive - almost 15 thousand dollars, and sometimes even more. Hunting is allowed only in South Africa and Namibia, and in both countries a special export permit is required for the export of a trophy.

According to some data, the total number of white rhinos is just over ten thousand individuals, according to other data, often cited in various media, their population can reach twenty thousand animals.

White Rhino Conservation

The server subspecies of the white rhinoceros is almost completely exterminated. Poachers are to blame for their extinction, since hunting for these rhinos has long been banned at the legislative level. The last male died in Kenya at the age of 44 in March 2018. Now only two females are left alive, and one is his daughter, and the second is his granddaughter.

Back in 2015, veterinarians discovered that naturally neither one nor the other can bear offspring. There is little hope of obtaining offspring of northern white rhinos by IVF - in vitro fertilization. Before his death, biological material was taken from the male (as well as from some other males who died earlier), with the help of which scientists expect to fertilize the eggs taken from females and add them to female southern white rhinos.

They are planned to be used as surrogate mothers. So far, research is being carried out in this direction, and the success of the planned event is not known in advance, and experts have a number of concerns. In particular, such a procedure has never been carried out on rhinos.

Northern white rhino is located in the reserve under round-the-clock armed protection from poachers. Patrolling of the territory takes place, including with the use of drones. As an additional measure, the horns were removed from the rhinoceros so that they would no longer be of commercial interest to would-be killers for the purpose of obtaining the horns.

The rhinoceros is an animal of the class mammals, subclass animals, infraclass placentals, superorder laurasotherium, order equids, family rhinos (lat. Rhinocerotidae).

The Latin name of the animal has Greek roots, the word Rhino is translated as "nose", and ceros means "horn". And this is a very apt name, because all five extant species of rhinoceros have at least one horn growing from the nasal bone of a mammal.

Rhinoceros: description and photo. What does the animal look like?

The rhinoceros is the largest land animal after the elephant. Modern rhinos reach a length of 2–5 meters, a height at the shoulders of 1–3 m, and weigh from 1 to 3.6 tons. The color of their skin, as it seems at first glance, is reflected in the names of the species: white, black, and everything is clear here. But it was not there. In fact, the natural color of the skin of white and black rhinos is about the same - it is gray-brown. And they are named so because they like to wallow in soils of different colors, which paint the surface of the body of rhinos in different shades.

By the way, the name "white" was generally assigned to the white rhino by mistake. Someone mistook the Boer word "wijde" (weide), which means "wide", for the English word "white" (white) - "white". The Africans so named the animal for its massive square muzzle.

Rhinos have a long, narrow head with a steeply sloping forehead. A saddle-like concavity forms between the forehead and the nasal bones. The disproportionately small eyes of animals have oval brown or black pupils, and short fluffy eyelashes grow on the upper eyelid.

Rhinos have a well-developed sense of smell: it is on this that animals rely more than on other senses. The volume of their nasal cavity exceeds the volume of the brain. Also, rhinos have well-developed hearing: their tube-like ears constantly rotate, picking up even faint sounds. But the vision of the giants is bad. Rhinos can only see moving objects from a distance of no more than 30 meters. The location of the eyes on the sides of the head prevents them from seeing objects well: they first see the object with one eye, and then with the other.

The upper lip of the Indian and black rhinos is very mobile. It hangs down a little and closes the lower lip. Other species have straight, clumsy lips.

On the jaws of these animals, some teeth are constantly missing. In Asian species, incisors are present in the dental system throughout life; in African rhinos, incisors are absent in both jaws. Rhinos have no fangs, but each jaw grows 7 molars, which are greatly erased with age. The lower jaw of the Indian and black rhinos is also decorated with pointed and elongated incisors.

The main distinguishing feature of rhinos is the presence of horns growing from the nasal or frontal bone. More often it is one or two unpaired outgrowths that have a dark gray or black color. Rhinoceros horns are not made of bone tissue, as in bulls, rams or antelopes, but of the protein keratin. Porcupine quills, human hair and nails, bird feathers, armadillo shell are made of this substance. The composition of the outgrowths of rhinos is closer to the horny part of their hooves. They develop from the epidermis of the skin. In young animals, when wounded, the horn is restored; in adult mammals, it no longer grows back. The functions of the horns have not yet been studied enough, but scientists have found that females in which the horn is removed cease to be interested in their offspring. It is believed that their main purpose is to move trees and grasses apart in thickets. This version is supported by changes in the appearance of the horns in adults. They become polished, and their front surface is somewhat flattened.

The Javanese and Indian rhinoceroses grow 1 horn from 20 to 60 cm long. The white and Sumatran rhinos have 2 horns each, and the black one has 2 to 5 horns.

Indian rhino horn (left) and white rhino horn (right). Left photo credit: Ltshears, CC BY-SA 3.0; right photo credit: Revital Salomon, CC BY-SA 3.0

The white rhino has the longest horn, it grows up to 158 cm in length.

Rhinos are heavy, thick-skinned mammals with three-toed, short, massive limbs. At the end of each toe they have a small, wide hoof.

The footprints of the animal are easy to recognize: they look like a clover leaf, as the rhinoceros rests on the surface of the soil with all its fingers.

The most “woolly” modern rhinoceros is the Sumatran rhinoceros, it is covered with bristle-like brown hairs, which are densest in young individuals.

The skin of the Indian rhinoceros is gathered into voluminous folds, which makes this animal look like a knight in armor. Even his tail is hidden in a special recess in the shell.

Where does the rhinoceros live?

In our time, from the once numerous family, only 5 species of rhinos belonging to 4 genera have survived, all of them have become rare and are protected by people from people. Below are the data from the International Union for Conservation of Nature on the number of these animals (data verified on January 5, 2018).

Three species of rhinoceros live in Southeast Asia:

• The most numerous of them Indian rhinoceros(lat. Rhinoceros unicornis), lives in India and Nepal, inhabiting floodplain meadows. The species is vulnerable, the number of adults in May 2007 was 2575 units. 378 of them live in Nepal and approximately 2,200 live in India. The rhinoceros is listed in the International Red Book.
• Worse is the case with Sumatran rhinos(lat. Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the number of which does not exceed 275 adults. They are found on the island of Sumatra (in Indonesia) and in Malaysia, they settle in swampy savannahs and mountain rainforests. Perhaps the habitat of several individuals includes the north of Myanmar, the state of Sarawak in Malaysia, the island of Kalimantan (Borneo) in Indonesia. The species is endangered and listed in the International Red Book.
• Javan rhinoceros(lat. Rhinoceros sondaicus) was in a particularly deplorable state: the mammal can only be found on the island of Java in specially created reserves for its conservation. The Javanese lives in flat glades of permanently humid tropical forests, in thickets of shrubs and grass. Animals are on the verge of extinction, and their number does not exceed 50 individuals. The species is listed in the International Red Book.

Two species of rhinoceros live in Africa:

• white rhino(lat. Ceratotherium simum) lives in the Republic of South Africa, was introduced to Zambia, and also reintroduced to Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland, Uganda, Zimbabwe. Inhabits dry savannas. Presumably, in the Congo, South Sudan and Sudan, mammals have become extinct. The species is close to a vulnerable position and is listed in the International Red Book, but thanks to protection, its number is gradually increasing, although back in 1892 the white rhino was considered extinct. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the number of white rhinos on December 31, 2010 was approximately 20,170 units.
• (lat. Diceros bicornis) is found in countries such as Mozambique, Tanzania, Angola, Botswana, Namibia, Kenya, South Africa and Zimbabwe. Also, a certain number of individuals were reintroduced in the territory of Botswana, the Republic of Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia. The animal prefers arid places: sparse forests, acacia groves, steppes, shrub savannas, the Namib Desert. It can also be found in mountainous areas up to 2700 meters above sea level. In general, the species is on the verge of extinction. According to the International Red Book, by the end of 2010, there were about 4880 individuals of this species in nature.

There are slightly more white and black rhinos than their Asian counterparts, but the white rhinoceros has been declared completely extinct several times.

Lifestyle of rhinos in the wild

These mammals often live alone, without forming herds. Only white rhinos can gather in small groups, and females with cubs of all kinds exist together for some time. Female and male rhinos are together only during mating. Despite such a love of loneliness, they have friends in nature. These are voloklyui, or buffalo starlings (lat. Buphagus), small birds that constantly accompany not only rhinos, but also zebras, giraffes, elephants, buffaloes, wildebeests. Birds peck insects and ticks from the back of mammals, and also warn them with a cry of approaching danger. From the Swahili language, the name of these birds askari wa kifaru is translated as "defenders of rhinos." Turtles also like to eat ticks from the skin of rhinos, waiting for animals in their mud baths.

Rhinos strictly guard their territory. A piece of pasture and a reservoir on it are in the "personal use" of one individual. Over the years, animals have trodden their paths on the territory, arranged places for taking mud baths. And African rhinos also organize separate latrines. For a long time, impressive heaps of manure are formed in them, which serve as an aromatic landmark and do not allow losing their territory. Rhinos mark their lands not only with manure: old males mark areas where they often graze with odorous marks, spraying grass and bushes with urine.

Black rhinos are more active early in the morning, as well as at dusk and at night: at this time of day they try to get enough, and it is very difficult for such giants to do this. During the day, the rhinoceros sleeps in the shade, lying on its stomach or side, or spends time lying in the mud. The sleep of these lumps is very strong, during it they forget about any danger. At this time, you can easily sneak up on them and even grab them by the tail. Other species of rhino are active both during the day and at night.

Rhinos are cautious animals: they try to stay away from people, but if they feel threatened, they actively defend themselves by attacking first. Rhinos run at a maximum speed of up to 40-48 km / h, but not for long. Black rhinos are more quick-tempered, attack quickly, and it is impossible to stop such a colossus. Their white counterparts are more peaceful, and human-fed cubs become completely tame and are happy to communicate with people on any occasion. Mature females even allow themselves to be milked.

Rhinoceroses are quite noisy animals: they snort, sniff, purr, squeal, low. Grunting and even neighing can be heard when animals graze peacefully. Anxious mammals make sounds similar to loud snoring. Females grunt, beckoning to their cubs, who squeal, having lost sight of their mother. Wounded and captured rhinos roar loudly. And during the rut (reproduction period), a whistle is heard from the females.

Most of these mammals do not know how to swim at all, and rivers become insurmountable obstacles for them. Indian and Sumatran rhinoceroses swim well across reservoirs.

How long does a rhinoceros live?

Rhinos live long enough. In zoos, their life expectancy often reaches 50 years. The black rhinoceros in the wild lives 35-40 years, the white rhinoceros lives 45 years, the Sumatran rhinoceros lives 32 years, and the Indian and Javan rhinos live no more than 70 years.

What does a rhinoceros eat?

Rhinos are strict vegetarians that eat up to 72 kg of plant foods per day. The main food of the white rhino is grass. With its wide, rather mobile lips, it can also pick up fallen leaves from the ground. Black and Indian rhinos eat the shoots of trees and shrubs. Herbivorous animals pull out acacia sprouts right from the root and destroy them in large numbers. Their wedge-shaped upper lip (proboscis) allows them to grab and break off hanging branches. The black rhinoceros loves elephant grass (lat. Pennisetum purpureum), aquatic plants, spurges and young reed shoots. The favorite food of the Indian rhinoceros is sugar cane. The Sumatran rhinoceros feeds on fruit, bamboo, foliage, bark, and young shoots of trees and shrubs. He also loves figs, mangoes and mangosteens. The food of the Javan rhinoceros is grass, foliage of vines, trees and shrubs.

In zoos, rhinos are fed grass, and hay is harvested for them in the winter, in addition to which they rely on vitamin supplements. Black and Indian species must be added to the feed branches of trees and shrubs.

Rhinos feed at different times of the day. Black, basically, grazes in the morning and in the evening, other species can lead an active lifestyle both day and night. Depending on the weather, an animal needs from 50 to 180 liters of water per day. During dry periods, odd-toed ungulates can do without water for 4-5 days.

Rhino breeding

Sexual maturity of the male occurs at about the 7th year of life. But he can proceed to reproduction only after he acquires his own territory, which he can defend. This requires an additional 2-3 years. The mating season for some rhinos begins in the spring, but for most species there is no confinement to the season: they have a rut every 1.5 months. And then serious fights begin between the males. Before mating, the male and female chase each other and may even fight.

Pregnancy of the female lasts an average of 1.5 years. Once every 2-3 years, only one relatively small cub is born to her. A newborn rhinoceros can weigh from 25 kg (as in white rhinos) to 60 kg (as in Indian rhinos). In a white rhinoceros, a baby is born hairy. In a few minutes he is on his feet, the day after birth he can follow his mother, and after three months he begins to eat plants. But still, the main part of the nutrition of a small rhinoceros is mother's milk.

The female feeds the cub with milk for a whole year, but he stays with her for 2.5 years. If during this period the mother has another cub, then the female drives the older one away, although most often he returns soon.

Enemies of rhinos in nature

All animals are wary of an adult rhinoceros. Only man ruthlessly destroys it to this day, despite all the prohibitions and protective measures.

Elephants treat rhinos “respectfully”, try not to climb “on the rampage”. But if they happen to collide at a watering place, and the rhinoceros does not give way, then a fight cannot be avoided. The duel often ends with the death of the rhinoceros.

Many predators like to feast on the delicious meat of rhino cubs: tigers, lions, Nile crocodiles, etc. At the same time, equids are protected not only by horns, but also by fangs of the lower jaw (Indian and black). In a fight between an adult Indian rhinoceros and a tiger, the latter has no chance. Even the female easily copes with the striped predator.

Types of rhinos, names and photos

• White rhinoceros (lat. Ceratotherium simum)- the largest rhinoceros in the world and the least aggressive among the representatives of rhinos. The body length of the white rhino is 5 meters, the height at the withers is 2 m, and the weight of the rhinoceros usually reaches 2–2.5 tons, although some adult males weigh up to 4–5 tons. One or two horns grow from the nasal bones of the beast. The back of the animal is concave, the belly hangs down, the neck is short and thick. The mating season of representatives of this species begins in November - December or July - September. At this time, males and females form pairs for 1-3 weeks. The female's pregnancy lasts 16 weeks, after which she brings one cub weighing 25 kg. They become sexually mature at 7-10 years. Unlike other species, white rhinos can live in groups of up to 18 individuals. More often they combine females and their cubs. In case of danger, the herd takes a defensive position, hiding the babies inside the circle.

The white rhino eats grass. The daily rhythm of representatives of this species is highly dependent on the weather. In the heat, they take refuge in mud pools and shade, in cool weather they seek refuge in the bush, in moderate air temperatures they can graze both day and night.

• Black rhinoceros (lat.Diceros bicornis) widely known for its aggressiveness towards humans and other species. The rhinoceros weighs 2 tons, its body length can be 3 m, and the height at the withers reaches 1.8 m. 2 horns stand out clearly on the large head of the animal. Some subspecies are owners of 3 or 5 horns. The upper horn is often longer than the lower one, reaching 40-60 cm in length. A feature of the black rhinoceros is a mobile upper lip: it is massive, slightly pointed and slightly covers the lower part of the mouth. The natural skin color of the animal is brownish-gray. But depending on the shade of the soil in which the rhinoceros likes to wallow, its color can be very different. It is only where volcanic soils are common that the color of the skin of rhinos is truly black. Some representatives of the species lead a nomadic lifestyle, the other is a settled one. They live alone. Pairs found in the savannas are females with cubs. The breeding season of the black rhinoceros does not depend on the season. The female carries the cub for 16 months, the baby is born with a weight of 35 kg. Just a few minutes after birth, the little rhinoceros gets up on its feet and begins to walk. The mother feeds him with her milk for about two years. She gives birth to a new baby in 2–4 years, and until that time the first child is with her. Animals feed on young shrubs and their branches.

An adult black rhinoceros has few enemies in nature. Only the Nile crocodile poses some danger to him. The main competitor is the elephant. Unlike other species of rhino, the black is not aggressive towards members of its own species. There were cases when females helped a pregnant tribeswoman, supporting her during difficult transitions. When at rest, the black rhinoceros walks with its head low, and raises it when looking around or angry. Along with leopards, lions, buffaloes and elephants, black rhinos are among the African Big Five as the most dangerous animals on the continent and at the same time the most coveted hunting trophies. The horn of the black rhinoceros, like the horns of all other members of the family, has been considered medicinal since ancient times. For these reasons, the mammal has always been brutally exterminated, but this has been especially intense over the past 100 years. Since 1960, the global black rhino population has declined by 97.6%. In 2010, there were approximately 4880 animals in it. For this reason, it was included in the Red Book of the Earth under the heading "Taxa in critical condition".

• Indian rhinoceros (lat. Rhinoceros unicornis) lives in savannas and places overgrown with bushes. The largest individuals reach a length of 2 meters, a height at the withers up to 1.7 m and a body weight of 2.5 tons. The thick skin of the animal with a pink tint is collected in massive folds. The tail of the Indian rhinoceros, which is also called one-horned, is adorned with a tassel of coarse black hair. The horn of females is similar to a small bulge on the nose. In males, it is clearly visible and grows up to 60 cm. During the day, the Indian rhinoceros lies in mud solutions. In a pond, several individuals can easily coexist side by side. Benevolent bumpkins in the water let many birds on their backs: herons, starlings, bee-eaters, which peck blood-sucking insects from their skin. Their peacefulness instantly disappears as soon as they come out of the puddles. Males often fight and leave shallow welts on each other's skin. With the onset of dusk, herbivores come out in search of food. They eat reed stalks, aquatic plants and elephant grass. Indian rhinos are good swimmers. Cases have been recorded when their representatives easily overcame the wide Brahmaputra River.

A female rhinoceros who has a calf may suddenly attack travelers. Often she rushes at elephants with riders on their backs. A properly trained elephant stops, then the rhinoceros also freezes in the distance. But if the elephant takes flight, then the driver may not be able to resist and fall. Then it will be difficult for him, because it is almost impossible to escape from the attacking rhinoceros. Indian rhinos live up to 70 years. The older the animal becomes, the more lonely it leads. Each individual has its own territory, which the beast carefully guards and marks with manure.

Sexual maturity of females occurs at 3-4 years, males - at 7-9 years. The interval between female pregnancies can be 3-4 years. Indian rhinos have one of the longest gestation periods, lasting 17 months. All the time before the onset of a new pregnancy, the mother takes care of the baby. During the mating season, males fight not only among themselves, but also with females chasing them. Males must prove their strength and ability to defend themselves.

• - This is the oldest representative of the family. The skin of the animal with a thickness of 16 mm is covered with bristles, which are especially dense in young individuals. For this feature, the species is sometimes called the "hairy rhinoceros". A large fold of skin runs along its back and behind the shoulders, skin folds hang over the eyes of the animal. There are incisors on the lower jaw of the odd-toed ungulate, and a tassel of hair flaunts on the ears. The armored rhinoceros has two horns, the front of which grows up to 90 cm. But the back is so small (5 cm in females) that the animal seems to be one-horned. The height of the Sumatran rhino at the withers is 1.4 m, its length reaches 2.3 m, and the animal weighs 2.25 tons. This is the smallest species of modern rhinos, but it still remains one of the largest animals on earth.

Day and night, the animal lies in muddy puddles, which it often does on its own, having previously cleared the area around it. It becomes active at dusk and during the day. The Sumatran rhinoceros eats bamboo, fruits, figs, mangoes, leaves, branches and bark of wild plants, and sometimes visits fields sown by humans. This is a fairly dexterous animal, it easily overcomes steep slopes and can swim. The giant leads a solitary lifestyle. It marks its territory with excrement and scars on tree trunks, left by it with the help of horns. The female carries the cub for 12 months. She brings one baby every three years and feeds him with milk until 18 months. The mother teaches the cub to find water, food, shelter, places for taking mud baths. The female reaches sexual maturity at the age of 4 years, the male at 7 years.

• now found only in the west of the island of Java in the reserve of the Ujung Kulon Peninsula. The people of Java call it "wara" or "warak".

In size, it is close to the Indian, and they belong to the same genus, but the physique of the warak is more lean. The height at the withers varies from 1.4 to 1.7 m, the size (length) without a tail is 3 m, and rhinos weigh 1.4 tons. Females are completely devoid of horns, and in males the length of a single horn is only 25 cm. the skin fold of individuals of this species rises, rather than folds back, as in the Indian rhinoceros. His favorite food is the leaves of young trees, he also eats the foliage of shrubs and vines.

• Only in 1513 did the inhabitants of Europe learn about the existence of a “outlandish beast”. It was handed over to the Portuguese king Manuel I by the Indian Raja Cambay. At first, the rhino was paraded to the crowd, and then they decided to send it to the Pope. The animal could not stand the sea journey, it went berserk, pierced the side of the ship and drowned in the sea.
• Over the past 15 years, several species of animals have completely disappeared from the Earth. Among them is the subspecies of the black rhinoceros - the western black rhinoceros (lat. Diceros bicornis longipes).
• The large Merck rhinoceros (lat. Diceros merki) lived in the Eurasian forests in the Quaternary period of the Cenozoic era, another rhinoceros - elasmotherium (lat. Elasmotherium) survived until the Holocene, and relatively recently (8-14 thousand years ago) the woolly rhinoceros (lat. Coelodonta antiquitatis). The largest representative of the rhinoceros in the history of the Earth was the indricotherium (lat. Indricotherium), which lived 20-30 million years ago. Its height was 8 meters, and it weighed up to 20 tons.
• The skeleton of a woolly rhinoceros (lat. Coelodonta antiquitatis), assembled from the bones of various individuals found in Siberia, can be seen in the paleontological museum of Tomsk State University. The length of its larger horn is 120 cm, the smaller one is 50 cm, the height of the skeleton is 160 cm. Scientists have found that the horns of the woolly rhino have been growing throughout their lives.
• The word "rhinoceros" is found not only in the name of an artiodactyl animal. There is also a hornbill, hornbill, hornbill viper, hornbill cockroach, hornbill fish, hornbill iguana. All of them have horns that make them look like a big beautiful mammal.
• The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) established Rhino Day in 2010, which is celebrated on September 22.

Rhinoceros- one of the largest herbivorous mammals on Earth. Animals are only inferior in size, and the main competition in the dispute for second place is rhinos, which are also very large.

Science knows five currently existing species of rhinoceros. These animals are on the verge of extinction.

The prepared report gives a brief description of the rhinoceros, its appearance, lifestyle and habitat.

Appearance

Rhinos have a peculiar appearance, and the feature of these mammals, as the name implies, is the horn on the nose. Rhinos can weigh up to 4-5 tons, and their body length sometimes reaches almost 4 meters. Rhinos have a massive, large body and relatively short and thick legs. The skin of mammals is thick, without wool and has a gray-brown color. An interesting feature of some animals is the folds of skin around the neck and legs. Because of this, it seems that the animal has a shell or armor.

As for the senses, the sense of smell and hearing are best developed in rhinos. This compensates for the rather weak eyesight of animals.

Lifestyle

Rhinos live and move alone, however, they can also form small groups. Mammals live near small reservoirs, swamps, shallow rivers or streams, as rhinos like to lie in water at shallow depths.

Despite their appearance, rather overweight and awkward at first glance, the body, rhinoceroses run quite fast and swim well. A running rhinoceros can reach speeds of up to 45-48 km / h! However, most of the time, rhinoceroses prefer a leisurely movement.

Rhinos are most active at night, and during the day the animals rest. Despite the fact that rhinos have no natural enemies in nature, the animals are as cautious and even timid as possible. Therefore, the rhinoceros tries to stay away from humans. However, if the rhinoceros senses danger, it may attack. But in general, a report of a rhinoceros attack on a person is a rarity.

Rhinoceroses are herbivores, some of them eat grass and others eat leaves. In nature, rhinoceroses live up to 50 years.

Rhinos inhabit mainly savannahs, lowland rainforests, as well as places with a colder climate are not for them. In nature, rhinos and Asia.

Rhino extinction

All of the extant rhino species. A very rare representative of the most ancient genus of rhinos is the Sumatran rhino. It is also the smallest member of the rhino family.

Rhinos are endangered due to mass extermination for the purpose of extracting horns. Rhino horns are highly valued. Previously, they were used to make jewelry, as well as in medicine for the preparation of medicines. Even in ancient times, people believed that the rhinoceros horn has unique properties, brings good luck and grants immortality.

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