Rhinos are equidistant mammals, representatives of the most ancient superfamily of the Rhinos. Now it includes two extinct and one existing family, consisting of five species.
We know the largest of all the Rhino White, as well as Indian, Sumatran, Javanese, and black species.
The article describes the rhino and interesting facts about this animal.
What does it look like
The rhino has a massive constitution - it has a powerful body (the second largest after the elephant in terms of size among land animals) and short strong limbs ending with three fingers with hooves.
The body length of modern species varies depending on the species from 2 (in Sumatran) to 4.2 meters. How much does a rhino weigh? The body weight of this animal is also impressive - from the "most modest" of 1 ton to more than 4 tons in males of a white rhino.
A distinctive feature of these animals, of course, is the presence on the face of small horny processes - one or two. In the latter case, the second horn does not grow from the nasal bone, but from the frontal. Interestingly, the ancestors of these animals, now extinct rhinos, judging by their fossil remains, did without it at all.
A rhinoceros skin deserves special mention, which is distinguished by the absence of hair (except for the Sumatran rhino) and its special thickness - here the animal became the champion among other mammals. On rhino sides, for example, the skin reaches a thickness of 2.5 centimeters. Such clothes perfectly protect the body not only in the heat, but also in the cold. Once it was very useful tundra rhinos of the ice age.
In addition, this animal has so many skins that it forms a large number of folds. These peculiar armor additionally protect the animal, but, as always, the minus follows the plus: it is these folds that inhabit skin parasites, and it is from there that they are most difficult to remove.
The skin color of different species is slightly different - although in reality the names “white” and “black” for the rhino are arbitrary, since the skin of their gray-slate color is only slightly lighter or darker. Rhinos love to take mud baths, therefore, generally speaking, the color of a rhino is the color of the land on which they walk.
What to eat and where to find
These animals are herbivorous. They eat about 72 kg of plant foods per day. However, there are slight differences in preferences - if the white rhinoceros that lives in the North and South African savannah eats mainly grasses, then the black rhino grazing in the western regions of Africa prefers to pick foliage from trees and shrubs.
Java rhinos are found in the west of Java and in Vietnam, but their number is only 60 individuals. In India and Nepal, there is an Indian rhinoceros, which retains its number due to the fact that it lives in strictly protected protected areas.
Most often, rhinos inhabit each of their specific areas, but sometimes, especially in the savannahs, graze in small herds.
Family creation
The male becomes sexually mature only with the onset of the seventh year of birth. But marrying rhinos has great difficulties - since he can only pair up if he finds his own plot that will feed him. The young husband must still be able to defend this territory from the encroachments of other rhinos concerned about the "housing" issue. According to the observations of zoologists, this usually takes another couple of years of life, or even more.
Before mating, fights occur in male rhinoceroses, after which the newly-defined pairs of newlyweds chase each other across their territory. Animals in the heat of love quite often fight.
The female carries the cub a year and a half. The weight of a newborn hippo can reach 25 kg (this is for white rhinos) and 60 (for black). The baby is born and after a few minutes he gets to his feet, the next day he follows his mother everywhere, and after two to three months begins to master the usual rhinoceros diet. However, mother’s milk is the main food of the baby throughout the first year of life, and remains with the female for more than two years. Even if, in view of the new baby, the grown child is driven out by his mother, he does not go far, then he is rushing to return.
Enemies of Rhino in the Wild
Feast on the meat of this representative of the fauna and especially their cubs are many among predators. But the rhino has reliable natural methods of protection - a massive body, a strong skin and, of course, a horn (or horns). Moreover, defending themselves and protecting their cubs, these artiodactyls act not only by the horny process on the forehead, but also by the fangs of the lower jaw. So, in a battle with a black Indian rhino, even a tiger has little chance of winning. And not only the male, but also the female will cope with the predator. Therefore, even the most dangerous representatives of the cat family, as a rule, can not affect how much the rhino lives.
These are cautious and even seemingly timid animals, leading predominantly nocturnal lifestyles. The rhino has poor eyesight, but excellent sense of smell and hearing. Realizing that danger is ahead, this giant will not run away, he will go ahead, bending his head and threateningly exposing his horn. Having dispersed, the animal is able to pick up speed up to 40-45 kilometers an hour, and, given its weight, there is hardly a living creature that can withstand such a blow.
Rhino in its natural habitat is very annoyed by small blood-sucking creatures - lice, mites, various species of flies. Buffalo or other species of birds that constantly accompany the herd help to get rid of them by clumsy giants, pecking flying and crawling small fry directly from the rhinoceros skin. Nevertheless, skin parasites also influence the rhino life expectancy in the natural habitat - they can cause diseases and weakening of some individuals.
But the main and most dangerous enemy of the rhino remains, of course, the man who destroys it by extracting meat, skin and especially horn processes. The latter are believed to contain a healing substance that supposedly promotes healing from all diseases and even immortality. True, modern science has long proved the unreasonableness of these data, which, however, did not lead to a decrease in demand for horns.
In addition, environmental protection measures are in place in the world with prohibitions and restrictions on hunting, which positively affects the factors that influence the question of how much rhinoceros lives. However, it must be recognized that the number of rhinos (with rare exceptions) continues to decline.
