Download rhinoceros fact sheet - World Animal Foundation

RHINOCEROS FACT SHEET
STATUS:
Endangered
DESCRIPTION:
There are five species of
rhinos — two African and three
Asian. The African species are
the white and black rhinos.
Both species have two horns.
Asian rhinos include the Indian
and the Javan, each with one
horn, and the Sumatran, which
has two.
SIZE:
The white rhino is the second
largest land mammal next to
the elephant. The five species
range in weight from 750
pounds to 8,000 pounds and
stand anywhere from four and
a half to six feet tall.
POPULATION:
 Black Rhino (Diceros
bicornis): 2,400
 White Rhino
(Ceratotherium
simum): 7,500
 Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): 400
 Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus): fewer than 100
 Indian Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis): more than 2,000
LIFESPAN:
Biologists estimate that wild rhinos live up to 35 years. In captivity, a rhino may live 40 years.
RANGE:
Rhinos are found in parts of Africa and Asia.
HABITAT:
Rhino habitat ranges from savannas to dense forests in tropical and subtropical regions.
FOOD:
Rhinos are herbivores, meaning they eat only plants. White rhinos, with their square-shaped lips, are ideally suited to
graze on grass. Other rhinos prefer to eat the foliage of trees or bushes.
BEHAVIOR:
As solitary creatures, both male and female rhinos establish territories. Males mark and defend their territories. Rhinos
use their horns not only in battles for territory or females but also to defend themselves from lions, tigers and hyenas.
OFFSPRING:
Males and females frequently fight during courtship, sometimes leading to serious wounds inflicted by their horns. After
mating, the pair goes their separate ways. A calf is born 14 to 18 months later. Although they nurse for a year, calves are
able to begin eating vegetation one week after birth.
THREATS:
Rhinos rank among the most endangered species on Earth. Valued for their horns, they face a serious threat from
poaching. Some cultures believe that the powdered rhino horn will cure everything from fever to food poisoning and will
enhance sexual stamina.
In the wild, adult rhinoceros have few natural predators other than humans. Young rhinos can fall prey to predators such
as big cats, crocodiles, wild dogs, and hyena. Although rhinos are of large size and have a reputation of being tough, they
are actually very easily poached. Because it visits water holes daily, the rhinoceros is easily killed while taking a drink. As
of December 2009 poaching has been on a "global" increase while efforts to protect the rhinoceros are being considered
increasingly ineffective. The worst estimate, that only 3% of poachers are successfully countered, is reported of
Zimbabwe.
Rhinoceros horns are used for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. None of the five rhinoceros species have secure
futures; the White Rhinoceros is perhaps the least endangered, the Javan Rhinoceros survives in only tiny numbers and
is one of the two or three most endangered large mammals anywhere in the world.
Rhino protection campaigns began in the 1970s, but rhino populations have continued to decline dramatically. Trade in
rhinoceros parts is forbidden under the CITES agreements, but poaching remains a severe threat to all rhinoceros
species.
CAPTIVITY:
While zoos and aquariums may appear to be
educational and conservation-oriented, most are
designed with the needs and desires of the visitors
in mind, not the needs of the animals. Many
animals in zoos and aquariums exhibit abnormal
behavior as a result of being deprived of their
natural environments and social structures.
Some zoos and aquariums do rescue some
animals and work to save endangered species, but
most animals in zoos were either captured from
the wild or bred in captivity for the purpose of
public display, not species protection. The vast
majority of captive-bred animals will never be
returned to the wild. When the facility breeds too
many animals they become "surplus" and often are
sold to laboratories, traveling shows, shooting
ranches, or to private individuals who may be unqualified to care for them.
PROTECTION:
*CITES, Appendix I, Endangered Species Act
*Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, an international treaty with more
than 144 member countries. Appendix I listed species cannot be traded commercially. Appendix II listed species can be
traded commercially only if trade does not harm their survival.