Conservation
All five species of Rhinoceros are endangered. Their horns are used for traditional Asian medicines and to make dagger handles in Yemen.
Special Features
- The two horns are fixed to a bump on the nasal bone.
- Rhinos make up for their poor eyesight with a keen sense of hearing and sense of smell.
- A group of rhinos is called a crash although they are usually solitary animals.
- Rhinos stay near water since they need to drink once a day. They can go several days without water by chewing on succulents. During droughts it digs for water with its forefeet.
- Since it cannot sweat, the rhino will wallow in the mud during the hottest hours of the day to keep cool. The mud also protects them against insects and sunburn.
- Oxpeckers will travel on a rhino's back in a symbiotic relationship. They pick off the ticks and screech loudly when humans approach.
Social Structure & Behavior
Communication is with snorts and puffs. A calf will bleat if it loses its mother. The Black Rhino is the most aggressive species in its family. It can charge at speeds of 30 mph and can kill a human.
Breeding & Care of Young
Sexually maturity is 4-5 years for cows and 7 years for bulls.
Gestation is 15 months.
They give birth to one calf at a time.
The calf is born without a horn.
The calf is weaned at 2 years old.
The young calf stays close to its mother forming a strong bond.
. The calf can walk within 10 minutes of birth.
The Black Rhino calf follows its mother while she clears a path through dense cover. A White Rhino calf will run ahead of its mother.
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