Rhinoceros - saveforforest

Rhinoceros

Rhinoceros is a general term for animals of the rhinoceros family (scientific name: Rhinocerotidae). It is a mammal of the order of the genus Mauritiana, mainly distributed in Africa and Southeast Asia. It is the largest odd-hoofed animal and a large terrestrial animal after the elephant. All rhinos are basically short legs and stout. Fatty and clumsy, body length 2.2-4.5 meters, shoulder height 1.2-2 meters; weight 2800-3000 kg, rough skin, and folds arranged on shoulders and waists; hair coat is scarce and hard, even most of it is hairless; Ears are oval, big and long head, short neck, long lips extended; the head has a solid horn or double horns (some females have no horns), which originates in the dermis, and the horns can still be reborn; no Canine teeth; short tail, yellowish brown, brown, black or gray body.

Existing 4 genus and 5 species of rhinos are endangered except white rhinos. Among them, the number of Javan rhinos is the least, about 50. The black rhinos are only about 10,000 to 30,000. These rhinos living in Asia and Africa are facing the destruction of their native habitats, and the threats of rhino horn buyers in East Asia and hunting tourists in Europe and America

Origin

Rhino has been widely distributed in the world during the tertiary period of the geological era.

Tertiary

Eocene (55-36 million years ago)

The oldest rhinoceros fossils discovered to date are tapir rhinos excavated in the early Eocene strata. The ancestors of this rhinoceros are about the size of modern tapirs. One of the ancestors of rhinoceros, forest rhinos, was widespread in Europe. However, the individual is small and good at running.

Oligocene (approximately 36 million to 25 million years ago)

The ancestors of modern Sumatran rhinos in Asia appeared in the Oligocene.

In addition, in the Oligocene, giant rhinoceros, the most continental mammal in history, appeared. It was strong and tall, with a length of about 8 meters and a height of 5 meters. However, although the giant rhinoceros and rhinoceros belong to the order of the genus Hoofidae, they do not belong to the rhinoceros family.

Miocene (25 million to 12 million years ago)

In the late Miocene, the ancestors of the one-horned rhino appeared. Currently, the only one-horned rhinoceros is the Javan rhinoceros and the Indian rhinoceros, both of which are distributed in Asia. The rhinos that appeared after the Miocene are similar in size to modern rhinos. Among them is the large lip rhinoceros, whose lower lip is slightly larger than the upper lip. Two large teeth in the lower jaw protrude forward. They live in swamps and feed on plants in the water.

Pliocene (5.3 million to 2.59 million years ago)

In the late Pliocene (about 3 million years ago), bi-horned rhinos appeared. Today's two-horned rhinos include Sumatran rhinos, white rhinos, and black rhinos.

Quaternary (2.59 million years ago to today)

Humans have appeared in the Quaternary period. The early rhinos were represented by plate-tooth rhinoceros and woolly rhinoceros.

The plate-shaped rhinoceros is huge, 5 meters long, wearing thick armor, with a large horn on the forehead, about 2 meters long, the teeth have a high crown, a square column shape, and live on grass. It was in North China and Europe in the Pleistocene period. There have been the life of plate-tooth rhinoceros

The woolly rhinoceros and mammoth are similar in shape. The huge body and thick skin with thick hair can resist the cold. There are a pair of giant horns on the long nose. The front branch can be up to 1 meter long. These two rhinos have been extinct at different times.

Existing rhinoceros

Among the progeny of rhinos, only 4 genera and 5 species of the rhino family remain, mainly distributed in Asia and Africa. Among them, rhinos distributed in Asia have been endangered. African rhinos still have ethnic groups because of protection measures. The main reason is that rhino horns are very profitable as medicinal materials. The current African rhino horns are mainly provided by farmers. South African farmers will cut off rhino horns and wait for about a year and a half before harvesting again, and some poachers will kill rhinos directly to take corners. As poaching leads to a reduction in numbers, it is not easy to buy real rhino horns now. Vendors also know that the protein parts of cattle and sheep can be substituted for profit, and even the cat and dog claws of similar ingredients are ground into fakes to change the amount.

Characteristics and habits

The existing rhinoceros is characterized by three short toes on the hoof and wide and blunt toenails at the tip of the toe. Except for the tip of the ear and the margin of the ear, the rhinoceros is almost hairless. Rhino is mostly gray or brown, of which the color of white rhino is lighter. Rhinoceros has poor vision, but has a good sense of smell and hearing. Rhino is one of the most primitive mammals in the world. The body of a rhinoceros is like a big armor, with a maximum length of more than 4 meters and a weight of 6 tons. Rhinoceros is a hoofed animal with three toes on the front and back feet. In general, rhinos are gray or brown, and most rhinos have no hair.

Rhinoceros mostly live in open grassland, savanna, shrubbery or marshland. Among them, Sumatran rhinoceros can only be found in the depths of the forest. They usually feed on small shrubs and herbs. Rhino uses urine and dunghill to distinguish the field.

Rhinoceros mostly live alone, and there is little contact between individuals. Only white rhinos live in groups of about 10. Most of the time, it avoids humans, but male rhinos, or female rhinos who lead small rhinos during the mating season, will be able to attack any target, including humans, with a little stimulation. Among them, the black rhinoceros is a relatively bad tempered rhinoceros, and will actively attack any strange smells or sounds. The black rhinoceros runs very fast, and can reach a speed of 45 km/h even in the thorns. When it does not hit the target, The speed of turning around is also very fast.

Reproduction

During the breeding season, a pair of rhinos may live together for four months. 1 litter per birth. 15-18 months of pregnancy. The baby rhinoceros can stand about half an hour after birth, and breastfeeding after more than an hour. Follow the mother rhinoceros until the next baby rhinoceros is born. The calf is very attached to his/her mother. The female rhinoceros produces a litter every few years, and the life span can reach 50 years.

The female rhinoceros produces a baby rhinoceros every 4-5 years, and the gestation period is 18 months. The baby rhino weighs 1,100 pounds. The rhinoceros is nearly two years pregnant. The baby rhinoceros has to live with its mother for three years before they can live independently, and the rhinoceros can only give birth to one child at a time. Therefore, rhinos can only breed once every 4-5 years.

Kind

White Rhino

There are two types of white rhinoceros: southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and northern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). In 2007, the number of wild populations in Southern Asia was 17,480 (IUCN2008), of which 16,266 were from South Africa, the most abundant subspecies of rhinoceros in the world. However, northern subspecies are extremely endangered, distributed in the upper Uganda and Nile rivers in eastern and central Africa, and have been completely extinct in the wild. There are only three northern white rhinoceros in captivity, only located in the Ol Pejeta Conservancy in Kenya. The only male white rhinoceros, Sudan (rhinoceros), is not only because of its old age. It reproduced and received euthanasia on March 19, 2018 due to bone and muscle degeneration, large wounds on the body and other reasons.

Black Rhino

Black rhinoceros are native to East and Central Africa, South Africa, Zimbabwe and Angola. Although it is called a black rhino, its color is brown and gray. Of the 8 subspecies of black rhinos, 3 subspecies have become extinct. According to 2003 data, the number of black rhinos has rebounded to about 3,610. The main threats of black rhinoceros are poaching and habitat reduction.

Indian Rhino

Indian rhinoceros are distributed throughout the Ganges plains of India and Nepal, but excessive hunting has reduced their numbers. Now-a-days more than 3,000 rhinos live in the wild. In 2014, 2,544 animals were found in Assam, India, an increase of 27% since 2006. At the beginning of the 20th century, there were only about 200 rhinos in Assam. The Indian rhinoceros is the second largest rhinoceros, after the white rhinoceros, and can weigh up to 4000 kg. In 1910, India banned the hunting of all rhinos and established the Indian Rhino Sanctuary.

Javan Rhino

Javan rhinos are the most endangered large mammals in the world. According to estimates in 2002, only about 60 still exist, only distributed in Ujungklong National Park, the westernmost point of Java in Indonesia, and the last wild individual in Vietnam was shot in 2010. Javan rhinos are also the least known rhino species, and their main threat is because hunters poach their horns. The Javan rhinoceros is smaller than the Indian rhinoceros and is close in size to the black rhinoceros. The body length (including its head) can reach 2 to 4 meters (6.6 to 13.1 feet), the height can reach 1.4-1.7 meters (4.6-5.8 feet), and the weight is 900-2300 kg.

Sumatran Rhino

Sumatran rhinos are the smallest surviving rhino species. It is distributed in high altitude areas of Borneo and Sumatra. Due to habitat loss and poaching, the number has fallen, leaving only 200 or fewer. Adult Sumatran rhinos have a shoulder height of about 130 cm, a body length of about 240-315 cm, and a weight of about 600-950 kg. Sumatran rhinos were once widespread in the rainforests and swamps of India, Thailand,Bhutan, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Laos, Malaysia and Indonesia. In China, Su Menxiu was once widely distributed in southern China, especially in Sichuan. Extinct in China in 1916. There are only 6 species in the wild, 4 of which are in Sumatra, the other two are in Borneo and Malay Peninsula, and may be distributed in the dense mountain forests of Myanmar. Even though there are more Sumatran rhinos than Javan rhinos, only one female rhino was captured in the wild in the past 15 years.