Program “I love Psychology” 

There is a rhinoceros living in the zoo. The rhinoceros is a blind giant. Lifestyle of rhinoceroses in the wild

A few days ago, shocking and depressing news emerged: in the Thoiry zoological park in Paris, poachers killed a white rhinoceros and sawed off its horn.

What happened

Criminals broke into the zoo early in the morning and killed a 4-year-old male white rhinoceros named Vince with three shots to the head, Le Parisien reports. The poachers used a chain saw to remove his front horn, according to a statement from zoo officials. The second horn was only partially cut. Presumably, someone scared the criminals or perhaps their equipment malfunctioned. An investigation is now underway to find those responsible. Vince was found in the morning by a female caretaker who is very attached to the animals she cares for. She was deeply touched by his death. This odious murder was committed despite the presence on the territory of the zoological park of five employees living here and the presence of CCTV cameras.

Fortunately, two other rhinoceroses living at the zoo were not harmed.

Reasons for murder

The white rhinoceros is listed on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Animals. This is largely due to the massive demand for their horns in China and parts of Southeast Asia. White rhinoceros horns are revered for their purported and largely unproven aphrodisiac properties and are used in traditional Chinese medicine.

Despite new efforts to combat this illegal trade around the globe, theft of rhino horns from museums and private collections is very common in Europe. However, poachers who hunt live animals in European zoos have until now been virtually unheard of.

Recently, however, zoological parks have faced an unusual wave of brutal attacks on animals. In the past few weeks, a hippopotamus was killed at a zoo in El Salvador, and a crocodile was stoned to death by visitors to a crocodile for no reason at a zoo in Tunisia.

The zoo in the Czech town of Dvur Kralove nad Labem is home to 20 rhinoceroses, including three cubs. To protect them from poachers, management decided to saw off the animals' horns. The fact is that today people hunt rhinoceroses not only in their natural habitat, but also in zoos. By the way, last year the authorities of Zimbabwe made a similar decision, where rhino hunting is especially active: in 2015 alone, approximately one and a half thousand animals died at the hands of poachers. It is also worth noting that on the black market, poachers can get 60 thousand dollars for one kg of horn. In this case, the horn can weigh from one and a half to 4 kg.

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There once lived a rhinoceros in the Moscow Zoo. He came to us in 1863 from India. This is how one of the founders of the zoo, Sergei Alekseevich Usov, recalls it: “They brought the rhinoceros in a specially designed wagon, which looked like a large box on four very, very healthy wheels, like the wheels of drays on which bells are carried. The truck was removed from the wheels, the front door was opened, the feeder was broken out, and the rhinoceros descended to the ground along a small platform. It was obvious that he was tired and had not yet lost his way. On the neck there was a thick collar with a ring, to which was attached a rather long, thick chain. They gave him food - the rhinoceros immediately began to chew the hay, and then lay down. They drove a thick stake into the ground and attached a chain to it.”

ON A NOTE

The documents for the rhinoceros indicated that its name was Semiramis, but this name did not catch on and the female began to be called Monka. By the way, before the opening of the zoo, the animals were kept in the large yard of Prince Kasatkin on Gruzinskaya Square. When the premises for the animals were ready, the question of their transportation arose and they decided to lead Monya on a leash. She had to walk 500 meters to the zoo. To stop the crews for this time and protect the animal from onlookers, the gendarmes were called and gathered about 20 people. A log was tied to the end of the chain for weight.

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Monya was driven by her caretaker with a twig. Sergei Alekseevich walked in front with bread, the workers were with the chain and at the sides. As soon as they left the gate of the yard, the rhinoceros stopped, laid back its ears and suddenly rushed forward, breaking the chain near the log. Monya was brought to her senses by a piece of black bread, which Sergei Alekseevich managed to stuff into her open mouth while running. As a result, before Monya ended up in the enclosure, she had to be fed more than 12 kg of black bread.

THIS IS CURIOUS

According to the memoirs of Sergei Alekseevich Usov, Monka was tame and ate from hands, and when they brought her, she calmly allowed herself to be washed and smeared with lard. And two weeks later she was already riding on the back of her caretaker, who drove her gently with a whip. By the way, according to Usov, “anyone could stroke Monka, and she took food from everyone’s hands, but only recognized the caretaker who looked after her.” It is also worth noting that Monka lived in the zoo for 24 years and died at the age of 28, and during all this time there were no problems with maintenance. True, one day they reported to Usov that Monka was not healthy, was refusing bran, eating almost nothing and drinking little. Meanwhile, it turned out that that day Monya ate 4.5 kg of bread, 3 birch brooms, almost 50 kg of hay and drank 5 buckets of water, i.e. half the usual amount. When the zoo opened to the public, Monka quickly got used to the visitors and often approached the fence with her mouth open, thus begging for bread.

The baby was born on Halloween and was shown to visitors only on November 21.

The baby, which will become Sydney Zoo's fourteenth black rhinoceros, has yet to be named. Baby's mother Bakhita came to Taronga Western Plains in 2002, and today the zoo is home to three generations of black rhinos. Bakhita's daughter, Kufara, gave birth to a baby, Messi, in the spring of 2017.

There are about 4 thousand black rhinos left in the wild. Ignorance and poaching led to the destruction of these animals. The hunting of animals similar to mythical unicorns became widespread in the 20th century. In some countries, it is believed that the powder from the horn of this animal has miraculous properties, supposedly restoring potency and helping to preserve youth.

Alternative medicine is still popular in Asian countries. A Hanoi resident paid $2,000 for the horn of a dead animal. The man rubbed it on the edge of a bowl with a rhinoceros design for 20 minutes, then poured the mixture into a glass and drank it.

“I decided to buy this piece of horn because I’m getting old and I need medicine. Friends say that rhinoceros horn will cure me of many diseases, stroke and high fever... They also say that it cures cancer,” explains the man.

The trade in rhino horns was banned in 1977 by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, CITES.

“If it were not for the UN Convention, rhinoceroses would not exist in the wild today. Thanks to her, the rhino population on the planet has recovered to 25 thousand individuals,” said CITES Secretary General John Scanlon.

Here is the smallest representative of the rhinoceros family - the Sumatran rhinoceros. The genus is on the verge of extinction; the total number of Sumatran rhinoceroses on the planet does not exceed 275 individuals. These photographs were taken at the Cincinnati Zoo, which is participating in a program to restore the population of these rare rhinoceroses.

The Sumatran rhinoceros (lat. Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is a species of mammal from the monotypic genus of the Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus) of the rhinoceroses family. It is the smallest of all five rhino species. It has two horns, like the African species.

Sumatran rhinoceroses historically inhabited rainforests, swamps and cloud forests in India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia and China, where they lived in Sichuan province. There are currently only five remaining populations in the wild: three in Sumatra, one in Borneo and one in the Malay Peninsula. However, the survival of the latter is in doubt. The total number of Sumatran rhinoceroses is estimated at approximately 275 individuals. The extinction of this species is primarily due to poaching for its horns, which are highly valued in Chinese medicine.

The first documented Sumatran rhinoceros was shot in 1793 in the western part of the island of Sumatra, 16 km from Fort Marlborough. Drawings and descriptions of this animal were sent to naturalist Joseph Banks, President of the Royal Society of London, who published a document based on the model in the same year. In 1814, the scientist Grigory Ivanovich Fischer von Waldheim gave the species a scientific name.

The generic name Dicerorhinus comes from the Greek words δι ("two"), κέρας ("horn") and ρινος ("nose"). The specific epithet sumatrensis refers to the name of the island of Sumatra, where Sumatran rhinoceroses were first discovered. Carl Linnaeus originally placed all rhinoceroses in one genus, so the scientific name was Rhinoceros sumatrensis. In 1828, the British naturalist and anatomist Josh Brookes identified the Sumatran rhinoceros as a separate genus, Didermocerus. German zoologist Constantin Gloger proposed another name, Dicerorhinus, in 1841, and British zoologist John Gray proposed the name Ceratorhinus in 1868. The International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature established the generic name Dicerorhinus in 1977.

There are three subspecies of the Sumatran rhinoceros:

Western Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis). Between 170 and 230 individuals survive, mostly in Bukit Barisan Selatan and Gunung Löser National Parks in Sumatra. About 75 rhinoceroses may also be present in Peninsular Malaysia. The main threats to this subspecies are habitat loss and poaching. There is some genetic difference between Western and Eastern Sumatran rhinos. For some time, Malaysian rhinoceroses were classified as a separate subspecies, but were later recognized as similar to Western Sumatran rhinoceroses.
The Eastern Sumatran rhinoceros, or Borneo rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni) was previously distributed throughout Kalimantan. Currently, about 50 individuals have survived and live in the state of Sabah, which belongs to Malaysia. There are unconfirmed reports of surviving populations in the state of Sarawak and the Indonesian part of the island of Kalimantan. This subspecies was named after Tom Harrison, who worked with the zoological world of Borneo in the 1960s. The eastern subspecies is the smallest among Sumatran rhinos.
The northern Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) was once common in India and Bangladesh. Currently declared extinct. According to unconfirmed reports, a small population may have survived in Burma, but the political situation in the country does not allow us to find out. Lasiotis means "hairy ears" in Greek. More recent studies have shown that the ear hairs of northern rhinoceroses are no longer than those of other subspecies. However, the northern Sumatran rhinoceros remained a separate subspecies due to its larger size.

In the early Eocene, Sumatran rhinoceroses separated from other equids. Comparison of mitochondrial DNA shows that the ancestors of modern rhinoceroses diverged from the ancestors of equids about 50 million years ago. Representatives of rhinoceroses settled in Asia at the beginning of the Miocene.

Paleontological studies show that the genus of Sumatran rhinoceroses existed 16-23 million years ago. Many fossil species have been assigned to the genus Dicerorhinus, but no other living members of the genus exist, with the exception of the Sumatran rhinoceros. Molecular analysis suggests that the Sumatran rhinoceros diverged from four other rhinoceros species about 25.9 million (±1.9 million) years ago. There are three hypotheses that reflect the relationship of the Sumatran rhinoceros and other surviving species: the first argues for a close relationship with the African rhinoceros (white and black), evidence of which can be found in the presence of two horns on the Sumatran rhinoceros; the second hypothesis considers the Sumatran rhinoceros as a relative of Asian species (Indian and Javan), which is explained by the proximity of their habitats; and finally, the third hypothesis is based on the fact that two African rhinoceroses, two Asian and Sumatran rhinoceroses represent separately existing lineages that diverged about 25.9 million ago. This hypothesis is confirmed by recent genetic analyses. Which groups dispersed first remains unknown.

Morphological features indicate a close relationship between the Sumatran rhinoceros and the extinct woolly rhinoceros. The woolly rhinoceros, so called for its layer of hair, appeared in China, and by the Upper Pleistocene it spread across the Eurasian continent from Korea to Spain. It survived the last ice age, but like mammoths and other megafauna, it became extinct about 10,000 years ago.

The height at the withers of an adult Sumatran rhinoceros is about 120-145 cm, body length is about 250 cm, weight is 500-800 kg, although large individuals in zoos can weigh up to 1000 kg. Like African species, the Sumatran rhinoceros has two horns. The nasal horn is longer than the posterior one, and reaches 15-25 cm in length (record length - 81 cm). The length of the rear horn, as a rule, does not exceed 10 cm. The horns are dark gray or black in color. In males they are longer than in females, although there are no other signs of sexual dimorphism.

Two thick folds of skin hug the body of the Sumatran rhinoceros in the area between the front and hind legs. The folds on the neck are somewhat smaller. The hair is reddish-brown in color and can be either thick or completely absent; The thickest coat is present in young individuals. In the wild, the color of rhinoceroses is difficult to determine, since their body is constantly covered in mud. The thickest hair grows around the ears and at the tip of the tail.

Sumatran rhinos, like other rhinos, have poor eyesight. However, they are fast and agile, easily climbing mountains and negotiating steep slopes and river banks.



A male extinct northern Sumatran rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis) with a record-breaking horn. London Zoo, 1904

Sumatran rhinoceroses lead a solitary lifestyle. The exception is the breeding season and the period of raising offspring. Each individual has a specific area; The area of ​​such a site is about 50 km² for males and about 10-15 km² for females. The territories of females usually do not overlap, but this phenomenon is quite common among males. Whether fights happen in such cases is not known for certain. Marking areas is done by scraping the soil with your feet and leaving excrement behind.

During the rainy season, rhinoceroses climb into the mountains, and during cold, dry periods they return to the lowlands.

Sumatran rhinoceroses make trails in their habitats. The trails are divided into two types: the main ones, which are used to move between important areas, for example, salt licks, and side trails, during which the rhinoceroses do not trample down the vegetation they need. The trails can also pass through fairly deep bodies of water (more than 1.5 m deep). Sumatran rhinoceroses are good swimmers.

The diet consists of young trees, leaves, fruits, branches and shoots. Rhinoceroses consume up to 50 kg of food per day. Feeding occurs after sunset and early in the morning. By examining excrement samples, scientists were able to identify more than 100 types of food consumed by rhinoceros. Most of the ratoin consists of young trees with a trunk diameter of 1-6 cm. Plant foods are high in fiber and moderate in protein. Salt marshes, which are a source of salt, play an important role in the diet of rhinoceroses. In their absence, rhinoceroses eat plants rich in inorganic substances.
Females reach sexual maturity at the age of 6-7 years, males at the age of about 10 years. There is no exact data regarding the gestation period of the Sumatran rhinoceros; in different sources, the period varies from 7-8 to 15-16 months. 1 cub is born, the weight of the newborn is on average 23-60 kg. Lactation lasts approximately 15 months, the young remain with the female for the first 2-3 years of life. In the wild, reproduction occurs at intervals of 4-5 years.

The behavior of Sumatran rhinoceroses during the breeding season has been studied in captivity. Sexual relations begin with males courting, raising their tails, urinating, and hitting each other in the face and genitals. The nature of courtship is in many ways similar to that of black rhinoceroses. Males are often aggressive towards females, sometimes even killing them during courtship. And if in the wild a female can escape from an angry male, then in captivity this is quite problematic, which is one of the reasons for the low success of breeding programs.

The estrus period lasts about 24 hours and repeats every 21-25 days. The duration of copulation is 30-50 minutes, similar to other rhinoceroses. They have a long copulatory period, which causes prolonged sexual arousal. And although researchers observed successful concepts, all pregnancies in captivity failed until 2001, when the first Sumatran rhinoceros was born at the zoo. Research into these failures at the Cincinnati Zoo led to the discovery that Sumatran rhinoceros produce eggs after mating and have unpredictable progesterone levels. Success in captive breeding of rhinoceroses was achieved in 2001, 2004 and 2007 by administering additional doses of progestin to females.

Life expectancy in the wild is 30-45 years. The record in captivity belongs to a female northern Sumatran rhinoceros who lived at London Zoo for 32 years and 8 months before her death in 1900.

Scientific classification:
Domain Eukaryotes
Kingdom Animals

Type Chordata

Subtype Vertebrates
Infratype Ghostostomes
Superclass Quadrupeds
Class Mammals
Subclass Animals
Infraclass Placental

Squad Odd-toed ungulates

Family Rhinoceros
Genus Sumatran rhinoceroses
View Sumatran rhinoceros (lat. Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Fischer, 1814))

A rhinoceros is an animal of the class mammals, subclass animals, infraclass placentals, superorder Laurasiotherium, order odd-toed ungulates, family rhinoceros (lat. Rhinocerotidae).

The Latin name of the animal has Greek roots, the word Rhino translates 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 mammal's nasal bone.

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

The rhinoceros is the largest land animal. Modern rhinoceroses reach a length of 2–5 meters, a shoulder height 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 skin color of white and black rhinoceroses is approximately 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 rhinoceros’s body in different shades.

By the way, the name “white” was generally assigned to the white rhinoceros by mistake. Someone mistook the Boer word “wijde,” which means “wide,” for the English word “white.” Africans named the animal this way because of its massive square muzzle.

Rhinoceroses have a long, narrow head with a steeply sloping forehead. A concavity resembling a saddle forms between the forehead and nasal bones. The animals' disproportionately small eyes 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. Rhinos also have well-developed hearing: their tube-like ears constantly rotate, picking up even faint sounds. But giants have poor eyesight. Rhinoceroses 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 an object with one eye, and then with the other.

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

The jaws of these animals are always missing some teeth. In Asian species, incisors are present in the dental system throughout life; African rhinoceroses do not have incisors in both jaws. Rhinos have no fangs, but each jaw grows 7 molars, which wear out greatly with age. The lower jaw of Indian and black rhinoceroses is also decorated with pointed and elongated incisors.

The main distinguishing feature of rhinoceroses is the presence of horns growing from the nasal or frontal bone. More often these are one or two unpaired outgrowths that are dark gray or black in color. Rhinoceros horns do not consist of bone tissue, like those of bulls, or, but of keratin protein. This substance consists of needles, human hair and nails, bird feathers, and armadillo shells. In composition, the outgrowths of rhinoceroses are 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, but in adult mammals it no longer grows back. The functions of horns have not yet been sufficiently studied, but scientists have found that females whose horns are removed cease to be interested in their offspring. It is believed that their main purpose is to push trees and grasses apart in thickets. This version is supported by changes in the appearance of the horns in adult individuals. They become polished, and their front surface is somewhat flattened.

The Javan and Indian rhinos grow 1 horn with a length of 20 to 60 cm. The white and Sumatran rhinos have 2 horns each, and the black rhinoceros has 2 to 5 horns.

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

The white rhinoceros has the longest horn; it grows up to 158 cm in length.

Rhinoceroses are heavy, thick-skinned mammals with three-toed, short, massive limbs. They have a small, wide claw at the end of each toe.

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

The most “woolly” modern rhinoceros is the Sumatran, it is covered with bristly brown hairs, the 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 its tail hides in a special recess in the shell.

Where does the rhinoceros live?

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

Three species of rhinoceroses 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 adult individuals in May 2007 was 2575 units. 378 of them live in Nepal and approximately 2,200 in India. The rhinoceros is listed in the International Red Book.
  • The situation is worse with Sumatran rhinoceroses(lat. Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the number of which does not exceed 275 adult individuals. They are found on the island of Sumatra (in Indonesia) and in Malaysia, settling in swampy savannas and mountain rain forests. Possibly, the habitat of several individuals includes the north of Myanmar, the state of Sarawak in Malaysia, and the island of Kalimantan (Borneo) in Indonesia. The species is endangered and is listed in the International Red Book.
  • Javan rhinoceros(lat. Rhinoceros sondaicus) found itself in a particularly deplorable state: the mammal can only be found on the island of Java in reserves specially created for its conservation. The Javanese lives in flat clearings of constantly humid tropical forests, in thickets of bushes and grass. The 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 rhinoceroses live in Africa:

  • White rhinoceros(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. Mammals are believed to have gone extinct in Congo, South Sudan and Sudan. The species is close to vulnerable and is listed in the International Red Book, but thanks to protection its numbers are gradually growing, although back in 1892 the white rhinoceros was considered extinct. According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature, the number of white rhinos as of December 31, 2010 was approximately 20,170.
  • (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 into the territories of Botswana, the Republic of Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia. The animal prefers arid places: sparse forests, acacia groves, steppes, shrub savannas, and the Namib Desert. It can also be found in mountainous areas up to 2700 meters above sea level. Overall, the species is on the verge of extinction. According to the International Red Book, by the end of 2010 there were about 4,880 individuals of this species in nature.

There are slightly more white and black rhinoceroses surviving than their Asian counterparts, but the white rhinoceros has already been declared a completely extinct species several times.

Lifestyle of rhinoceroses in the wild

These mammals often live alone, without forming herds. Only white rhinoceroses can gather in small groups, and females with cubs of all species exist together for some time. Females and males of rhinoceroses are together only during mating. Despite such a love of solitude, they have friends in nature. These are dragworts, or buffalo starlings (lat. Buphagus), small birds that constantly accompany not only rhinoceroses, but also elephants, buffaloes, and wildebeests. Birds peck insects from the backs of mammals, and also scream to warn them of approaching danger. From the Swahili language, the name of these birds, askari wa kifaru, is translated as “protectors of rhinoceroses.” They also like to eat ticks from the skin of rhinoceroses and wait for the animals in their mud baths.

Rhinoceroses strictly guard their territory. The pasture area and the reservoir on it are for the “personal use” of one individual. Over the years, animals have trodden their paths on the territory and set up places for taking mud baths. And African rhinoceroses also organize separate latrines. Over a long period of time, impressive piles of manure are formed in them, which serve as an aromatic landmark and do not allow them to lose their territory. Rhinos mark their grounds not only with dung: old males mark areas where they often graze with odorous marks, spraying urine on the grass and bushes.

Black rhinoceroses are more often 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. These bumpkins sleep very soundly, during which they forget about any danger. At this time, you can easily sneak up on them and even grab them by the tail. Other rhino species are active both during the day and at night.

Rhinoceroses are cautious animals: they try to stay away from people, but if they feel threatened, they actively defend themselves, attacking first. Rhinoceroses run at a maximum speed of 40-48 km/h, but not for long. Black rhinoceroses are more hot-tempered, they 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 at any opportunity. Mature females even allow themselves to be milked.

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

Most of these mammals cannot swim at all, and rivers become insurmountable obstacles for them. Indian and Sumatran rhinoceroses swim well across bodies of water.

How long does a rhinoceros live?

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

What does a rhinoceros eat?

Rhinos are strict vegetarians, eating up to 72 kg of plant food per day. The main food of the white rhinoceros is grass. With its wide, fairly mobile lips, it can also pick up fallen leaves from the ground. Black and Indian rhinoceroses eat shoots of trees and bushes. Herbivorous animals pull out acacia sprouts right by the roots 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, milkweed and young shoots of reeds. The favorite food of the Indian rhinoceros is sugar cane. The Sumatran rhinoceros feeds on fruits, bamboo, leaves, 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, rhinoceroses are fed grass, and for the winter hay is prepared for them, in addition to which they rely on vitamin supplements. For the black and Indian species, branches of trees and shrubs must be added to their food.

Rhinos feed at different times of the day. The black one mainly grazes in the morning and evening, while 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, equids can go without water for 4-5 days.

Rhino breeding

Sexual maturity of the male occurs approximately in the 7th year of life. But he can proceed to reproduction only after he has acquired his own territory, which he can defend. This requires an additional 2-3 years. The mating season for some rhinoceroses begins in the spring, but for most species there is no time of year: their rut occurs 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.

The female's pregnancy lasts on average 1.5 years. Once every 2-3 years, she gives birth to only one relatively small cub. A newborn rhinoceros can weigh from 25 kg (like white rhinoceroses) to 60 kg (like Indian rhinoceroses). A white rhinoceros's baby is born with hair. Within a few minutes he stands 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 little rhinoceros’s diet 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 gives birth to another cub, then the female drives away the older one, although most often he returns soon.

Enemies of rhinoceroses in nature

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

Elephants treat rhinoceroses with “respect” and try not to get into trouble. But if they happen to collide at a watering hole, and the rhinoceros does not give way, then a fight cannot be avoided. The fight often ends in the death of the rhinoceros.

Many predators like to feast on the delicious meat of baby rhinos: Nile crocodiles, etc. At the same time, equids protect themselves not only with horns, but also with 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 rhinoceroses, names and photos

  • White rhinoceros (lat. Ceratotherium simum)- the largest rhinoceros in the world and the least aggressive among the rhinoceroses. The body length of the white rhinoceros 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 animal's nasal bones. The animal's back is concave, its belly hangs down, its neck is short and thick. The mating season for representatives of this species occurs 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 gives birth to one cub weighing 25 kg. They become sexually mature at 7–10 years. Unlike other species, white rhinoceroses can live in groups of up to 18 individuals. More often they unite females and their cubs. In case of danger, the herd takes a defensive position, hiding the babies inside the circle.

The white rhinoceros eats grass. The daily rhythm of representatives of this species is highly dependent on the weather. In hot weather they take refuge in mud ponds and shade, in cool weather they seek refuge in the bush, and at 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 are clearly visible on the large head of the animal. Some subspecies have 3 or 5 horns. The upper horn is often longer than the lower one, reaching 40-60 cm in length. A special feature of the black rhinoceros is its movable upper lip: it is massive, slightly pointed and slightly covers the lower part of the mouth. The natural color of the animal's skin is brownish-gray. But depending on the shade of the soil in which the rhino likes to wallow, its color can vary greatly. Only where volcanic soils are common is the color of rhinoceros skin truly black. Some representatives of the species lead a nomadic lifestyle, others are sedentary. They live alone. Pairs found in savannas are females with cubs. The breeding season of the black rhinoceros does not depend on the time of year. The female carries the baby for 16 months, the baby is born weighing 35 kg. Immediately a few minutes after birth, the little rhinoceros stands on its feet and begins to walk. His 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 bushes and their branches.

An adult black rhinoceros has few enemies in nature. The only thing that poses some danger to him is. The main competitor is the elephant. Unlike other species of rhinoceros, the black one is not aggressive towards members of its own species. There were cases when females helped a pregnant fellow tribesman, supporting her during difficult transitions. When calm, the black rhinoceros walks with its head low, and raises it when it looks around or gets angry. Along with lions, buffaloes and elephants, black rhinoceroses are among the big five African animals 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 happening especially intensively over the past 100 years. Since 1960, the global black rhino population has declined by 97.6%. In 2010, there were approximately 4,880 animals. For this reason, it was included in the Red Book of the Earth under the heading “Taxons 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 of up to 1.7 m and a body weight of 2.5 tons. The thick, pink-tinged skin of the animal is gathered into massive folds. The tail of the Indian rhinoceros, which is also called one-horned, is decorated with a tassel of coarse black hair. The female's horn looks like 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 reservoir, several individuals can calmly coexist side by side. Benevolent lumps in the water let many birds onto their backs: starlings, bee-eaters, which peck blood-sucking insects from their skin. Their peacefulness instantly disappears as soon as they emerge from the puddles. Males often fight and leave shallow scars on each other's skin. At dusk, herbivores go out in search of food. They eat reed stems, aquatic plants and elephant grass. Indian rhinoceroses are good swimmers. Cases have been recorded when their representatives easily crossed the wide Brahmaputra River.

A female rhinoceros with a calf may suddenly attack travelers. She often attacks elephants with riders on their backs. A properly trained elephant stops, then the rhinoceros also freezes in the distance. But if the elephant takes off running, the driver may not be able to hold on and fall. Then he will have a hard time, because it is almost impossible to escape from an attacking rhinoceros. Indian rhinoceroses live up to 70 years. The older the animal gets, the more lonely its lifestyle it leads. Each individual has its own territory, which the animal carefully guards and marks with dung.

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 rhinoceroses have one of the longest periods of gestation, 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 pursuing them. Males must prove their strength and ability to defend themselves.

  • - This is the most ancient representative of the family. The animal's skin is 16 mm thick and covered with bristles, which are especially thick 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 its shoulders; folds of skin also hang over the animal’s eyes. On the lower jaw of the equid there are incisors, and on the ears there is a tassel of hair. The armored rhinoceros grows two horns, the front of which grows up to 90 cm. But the rear one is so small (5 cm in females) that the animal seems to be one-horned. The height of the Sumatran rhinoceros 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 rhinoceros, but it still remains one of the largest animals on earth.

Day and night, the animal lies in dirty puddles, which it often makes on its own, having previously cleaned 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 agile animal, it easily overcomes steep slopes and can swim. The giant leads a solitary lifestyle. It marks its territory using excrement and scars on tree trunks left by its horns. The female carries the cub for 12 months. She brings one baby once every three years and feeds him with milk until 18 months. The mother teaches the cub to find water, food, shelter, and places to take 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 Java in the Ujung Kulon Peninsula Nature Reserve. The people of Java call it "wara" or "warak".

In size it is close to the Indian one, and they belong to the same genus, but the warak’s physique is leaner. The height at the withers varies from 1.4 to 1.7 m, the size (length) without a tail is 3 m, and rhinoceroses weigh 1.4 tons. Females are completely devoid of horns, and in males the length of a single horn is only 25 cm. A noticeable front the fold of the skin of individuals of this species rises, and does not bend back, like that of the Indian rhinoceros. Its favorite food is the leaves of young trees; it also eats the foliage of shrubs and vines.