Rhino Facts
Rhino Facts
2. The word rhinoceros comes from the Ancient Greek words "rhino" (which means nose) and "keras" (which means horn).
3. Both black and white rhinos are actually grey in colour. You can see the differences between them by looking at the shape of their lips-the white rhino has broad flat lips used for grazing, and the black rhino has long pointed lips for eating leaves and shrubs.
4. All rhinos are herbivores, which means that they eat plants and grasses.
5. Rhinos have poor eyesight, but have good hearing and an excellent sense of smell. They may find one another by following the trail of scent left by another rhino in the bush.
6. A white rhino may weigh as much as 3600kg-the weight of 50 average-sized men. It can also run over 60km per h our over short distances.
7. Rhino horns are not made of bone, but thick hair, they have been known to grow up to five feet (one and a half meters) long. Females use their horns to protect their young, while males use them to fight.
8. The white rhino got its name from the Dutch word “weit” which means wide; they were talking about its wide, square mouth.
9. Rhinos enjoy wallowing in the mud, this is because it is cooling in hot African summers, and the mud acts as a natural sunblock and bug spray.
10. Rhinos are odd-toed (three toes) ungulates, which means they are mammals that have hooves. They are more closely related to horses than hippos are.
11. Females reproduce only every two and a half to five years. A mother will stay with her calf for 2-4 years.
12. Black rhinos have a prehensile upper lip (like a set of fingers) that can be used to pull out the smallest piece of vegetation from a thorn bush. Showing their intelligence, they can also use their lip to open gates and even car doors.
13. They have two horns on the nose. The larger anterior horn can average one-and-a-half feet (0.5 m) long.
14. Rhinos are the only animals with horns located on the nose not on the top of the head. The horns of cattle, sheep and antelopes have a bony core but rhino horn is composed entirely of keratin fibers tightly packed together. Rhino horns, which grow continuously, are used to dig up the ground to get mineral salts and also used as weapons when fighting.
15. Rhinos walk on their toes! They have three toes with a soft pad under the toes that helps cushion their enormous weight. Although they are large bulky animals they can actually run up to 35 miles per hour over short distances.
16. Black rhinos are browsers. They eat twigs and leaves rather than the grasses preferred by grazing animals like the white rhino. Black rhino are particularly fond of acacia and euphorbias (ex: boxwood, spurge and jojoba). They have a prehensile upper lip which helps them grab and strip woody plants. If their preferred foods are unavailable they may eat grass using their upper lip like a hook to rip up clumps of grass.
17. With small eyes placed on the side of the head, rhinos are very nearsighted and will charge at trees, rocks and vehicles until they get close enough to determine if the object is a threat.
18. Rhinos make a variety of sounds including snorts, roars, squeals, honks and puffing sounds.
19. Although ancient rhinos once roamed North America, the five remaining rhino species are only found in Africa and Asia.
20. The Sumatran rhino or “hairy rhino” has rough hairs on its skin -others only have hair on their tails and ears.
21. Rhinos are territorial - marking their ranges with urine and piles of dung.
22. Rhinos have thick, heavy hides which go into folds at the hips and shoulders, resembling an armour plate.
23. Rhinos have no sweat glands and so use water and mud to keep cool.
24. These animals face extinction in part because of the world’s longstanding lust for their horn, which has been valued for centuries as a carving material and medicinal.
25. Rhino horn is made up primarily of keratin - a protein found in hair, fingernails, and animal hooves. When carved and polished, horn takes on a translucence and luster that increase as the object ages.
26. In ancient Greece, rhino horn was believed to have the ability to purify water.
27. Persians in the 5th century B.C. thought that rhino horn vessels could be used to detect poisoned liquids, which would bubble when poured into such cups. Four world religions (Hinduism, Islam, Buddhism and Christianity) at times shared this belief, as did the crowned heads of Europe up through the 18th and 19th centuries. And, in fact, chemists have concluded that there may be some truth in the theory if the poisons happen to be alkaloids, which might react with the keratin in the rhino horn.
28. Artisans in China used rhino horn for ornamentation as long ago as the 7th century.
29. For hundreds of years, it was customary for Chinese nobles to mark the emperor’s birthday with the gift of a carved rhino horn "libation cup."
30. Museums and private collectors worldwide prize these antiques for both their beauty and monetary value.
31. In Yemen, rhino horn was long used for making the handles of special curved daggers that are presented to adolescent boys as a sign of manhood and devotion to Islam.
32. The ornamental application of rhino horn was a “high society” decorative “fad” in Europe in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Through the 1920s, items made from horn ranged from walking sticks and door handles to pistol grips and limousine interiors.
33. The medicinal use of rhino horn also dates back centuries.
34. Medical practitioners in such Asian countries as Malaysia, Korea, Vietnam, India and China used it as a treatment for many different symptoms and illnesses.
35. In traditional Chinese medicine, ground rhino horn was prescribed for lowering fever and ameliorating such disorders as rheumatism and gout.
36. Other uses in traditional medicine included treating snakebite, boils, food poisoning, and possession by spirits as well as curing headaches, hallucinations, high blood pressure, and typhoid.
37. Scientists have little evidence to support belief in the medical efficacy of rhino horn, and many practitioners of traditional medicine have stopped using it in light of the species’ plight. Yet such belief persists and is fueled by "urban legends" old or new about its powers as an aphrodisiac or cure for cancer.
38. Medicinal use continues to create demand for rhino horn-a demand that poses a threat to the continued survival of rhino species in the wild.
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