Indian Rhinoceros
Encyclopedia
The Indian Rhinoceros is also called Greater One-horned Rhinoceros and Asian One-horned Rhinoceros and belongs to the Rhinocerotidae family. Listed as a vulnerable species
, the large mammal
is primarily found in parts of north-eastern India
and in protected areas in the Terai
of Nepal
, where populations are confined to the riverine grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas
. Typically weighing between 1600 to 3500 kg (3,527.4 to 7,716.2 lb), it is the fourth or fifth largest land animal.
The Indian rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
but excessive hunting reduced their natural habitat drastically. Today, about 3,000 rhinos live in the wild, 2,000 of which are found in India's Assam
alone.
is heavy with a basal length above 60 cm (23.6 in) and an occiput
above 19 cm (7.5 in).
The largest sized specimens can range up to 4000 kg (8,818.5 lb).
The Rhino's single horn
is present in both males and females, but not on newborn young. The black horn, like human fingernails, is pure keratin
and starts to show after about 6 years. In most adults, the horn reaches a length of about 25 cm (9.8 in), but has been recorded up to 57.2 cm (22.5 in) in length. The nasal horn is slightly back-curved with a base of about 18.5 cm (7.3 in) by 12 cm (4.7 in) that rapidly narrows until a smooth, even stem part begins about 55 mm (2.2 in) above base. In captive animals, the horn is frequently worn down to a thick knob.
The Indian rhinoceros has thick, silver-brown skin, which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. It has very little body hair, aside from eyelashes, ear-fringes and tail-brush. Males develop thick neck-folds.
One-horned rhinos once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian subcontinent
, along the Indus
, Ganges and Brahmaputra River
basins, from Pakistan
to the Indian-Burmese
border, including parts of Nepal
, Bangladesh
and Bhutan
. They may have also existed in Myanmar, southern China and
Indochina
.They prefer the alluvial plain grasslands of the Terai
and Brahmaputra basin. As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes their range has gradually been reduced so that by the 19th century, they only survived in the Terai
grasslands of southern Nepal
, northern Uttar Pradesh
, northern Bihar
, northern Bengal
, and in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam
.
On the former abundance of the species, Thomas C. Jerdon
wrote in 1867:
Today, their range has further shrunk to a few pockets in southern Nepal
, northern Bengal
and the Brahmaputra Valley. In the 1980s, rhinos were frequently seen in the narrow plain area of Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan
. Today, they are restricted to habitats surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that they often occur in adjacent cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests.
Rhinos are regionally extinct in Pakistan.
In 2007, the total population was estimated to be 2,575 individuals, of which 2,200 lived in Indian protected areas:
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary shelters the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world — with 84 individuals in 2009 in an area of 38.8 km² (15 sq mi).
In Nepal, a total of 378 individuals were estimated to live by 2007, most of them in Chitwan National Park, 35 individuals in Bardia National Park, and six individuals in Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
. In March 2008, a rhino count conducted in the Terai recorded 408 individuals in and around Chitwan National Park, and 22 individuals
in the Karnali flood plain area of Bardia National Park. There are 5 rhinos in the Sukla Phanta
Wildlife Reserve.
In Pakistan's Lal Suhanra National Park
, two rhinos from Nepal were introduced.
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Rhinos are mostly solitary creatures, with the exception of mothers and calves and breeding pairs, although they sometimes congregate at bathing areas. They have home ranges, the home ranges of males being usually 2 to 8 km² (0.77220431718507 to 3.1 sqmi) large and overlapping each other. Dominant males tolerate males passing through their territory except when they are in mating season, when dangerous fights break out. They are active at night and early morning. They spend the middle of the day wallowing in lakes, rivers, ponds, and puddles to cool down. They are very good swimmers. Over 10 distinct vocalizations
have been recorded.
Indian rhinos have few natural enemies, except for tiger
s who sometimes kill unguarded calves, but adult rhinos are less vulnerable due to their size. Mynahs and egret
s both eat invertebrates from the rhino's skin and around its feet. Tabanus flies, a type of horse-fly
are known to bite rhinos. The rhinos are also vulnerable to diseases spread by parasites such as leech
es, tick
s, and nematode
s. Anthrax
and the blood-disease septicemia are known to occur.
They can run at speeds of up to 55 km/h (34.2 mph) for short periods of time and are excellent swimmers. They have excellent senses of hearing and smell but relatively poor eyesight.
Feeding occurs during the morning and evening. The rhino uses its prehensile lip to grasp grass stems, bend the stem down, bite off the top, and then eat the grass. With very tall grasses or saplings, the rhino will often walk over the plant, with its legs on both sides, using the weight of its body to push the end of the plant down to the level of the mouth. Mothers also use this technique to make food edible for their calves. They drink for a minute or two at a time, often imbibing water filled with rhinoceros urine.
The Indian rhinoceros makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak-panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the rhino uses olfactory communication. Adult males urinate backwards, as far as 3–4 meters behind them, often in response to being disturbed by observers. Like all rhinos, the Indian rhinoceros often defecates near other large dung piles. The Indian Rhino has pedal scent glands which are used to mark their presence at these rhino latrines. Males have been observed walking with their heads to the ground as if sniffing, presumably following the scent of females.
In aggregations, Indian Rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouth. Adult males are the primary instigators in fights. Fights between dominant males are the most common cause of rhino mortality and males are also very aggressive toward females during courtship. Males will chase females over long distances and even attack them face-to-face. Unlike African Rhinos, the Indian Rhino fights with its incisors, rather than its horns.
In captivity, four are known to have lived over 40 years, the oldest living to be 47.
Sport hunting became common in the late 1800s and early 1900s. Indian rhinos were hunted relentlessly and persistently. Reports from the middle of the 19th century claim that some military officers in Assam
individually shot more than 200 rhinos. By 1908, the population in Kaziranga had decreased to around 12 individuals. In the early 1900s, the species had declined to near extinction.
Poaching
for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino after conservation measures were put in place from the beginning of the 20th century, when legal hunting ended. From 1980 to 1993, 692 rhinos were poached in India. In India's Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary 41 rhinos were killed in 1983, virtually the entire population of the sanctuary. By the mid-1990s, poaching had rendered the species extinct there.
In 1950, Chitwan
’s forest and grasslands extended over more than 2600 km² (1,003.9 sq mi) and were home to about 800 rhinos. When poor farmers from the mid-hills moved to the Chitwan Valley in search of arable land, the area was subsequently opened for settlement, and poaching
of wildlife became rampant. The Chitwan population has repeatedly been jeopardized by poaching: in 2002 alone, poachers have killed 37 animals cruelly in order to saw off and sell their valuable horns.
There are six recorded ways of killing rhinos:
Poaching, mainly for the use of the horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
has remained a constant and has led to decreases in several important populations. Apart from this, there have been serious declines in quality of habitat in some areas, due to
The species is inherently at risk because over 70% of its population occurs at a single site, Kaziranga National Park. Any catastrophic event such as disease, civil disorder, poaching, habitat loss would have a devastating impact on the Indian rhino's status. On the other hand, small population of rhinos may be prone to in-breeding depression.
(WWF) and other non-governmental organizations. In the early 1980s, a rhino translocation scheme was initiated. The first pair of rhinos was reintroduced from Nepal's Terai
to Pakistan
's Lal Suhanra National Park
in Punjab
in 1982.
— four from the fields outside the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary
and one from Goalpara.
. In 1959, Edward Pritchard Gee
undertook a survey of the Chitwan Valley
, recommended creation of a protected area north of the Rapti River
and of a wildlife sanctuary south of the river for a trial period of ten years. After his subsequent survey of Chitwan in 1963, he recommended extension of the sanctuary to the south. By the end of the 1960s, only 95 rhinos remained in the Chitwan Valley. The dramatic decline of the rhino population and the extent of poaching prompted the government to institute the Gaida Gasti – a rhino reconnaissance patrol of 130 armed men and a network of guard posts all over Chitwan. To prevent the extinction of rhinos the Chitwan National Park was gazetted in December 1970, with borders delineated the following year and established in 1973, initially encompassing an area of 544 km² (210 sq mi). Since 1973, the population has recovered well and increased to 544 animals around the turn of the century. To ensure the survival of rhinos in case of epidemics animals are translocated annually from Chitwan to the Bardia National Park and the Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
since 1986.
. No rhinoceros was successfully bred in Europe until 1956. On September 14, 1956 Rudra was born in Zoo Basel
, Switzerland
. In the second half of the 20th century, zoos became adept at breeding Indian rhinoceros. By 1983, nearly 40 babies had been born in captivity. As of 2010, 32 Indian rhinos were born at Zoo Basel
, which means that most animals kept in a zoo are somehow related to the population in the zoo of Basel
, Switzerland. Due to the success of Zoo Basel's breeding program
, the International Studbook
for the species has been kept there since 1972. Since 1990, the Indian rhino European Endangered Species Programme
is being coordinated there as well, which ensures that the captive global Indian rhinoceros population stays genetically as healthy as possible. As of 2010, 174 rhinos are kept in zoos worldwide.
In June 2009, an Indian rhino was artificially inseminated
using sperm collected four years previously and cryo-preserved
at the Cincinnati Zoo’s CryoBioBank before being thawed and utilized. She gave birth to a male calf in October 2010. The calf died 12 hours after birth.
The modern scientific designation Rhinoceros unicornis is adopted from the Greek: ρινό- ("rhino-" — a certain nasal condition) and -κερος ("-keros" — horn of an animal) and Latin: "uni-" meaning single and "-cornis" meaning horn. This rhinoceros is monotypic
, meaning there are no distinct subspecies. Rhinoceros unicornis was the type species
for the rhinoceros family, first classified by Carolus Linnaeus
in 1758.
around 50 million years ago. The extant family, the Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the Late Eocene in Eurasia
, and the ancestors of the extant rhino species dispersed from Asia beginning in the Miocene
.
Fossils of Rhinoceros unicornis appear in the Middle Pleistocene
. In the Pleistocene
, the Rhinoceros genus ranged throughout South
and Southeast Asia
, with specimens located on Sri Lanka
. Into the Holocene
, some rhinoceros lived as far west as Gujarat and Pakistan
until as recently as 3,200 years ago.
The Indian and Javan Rhinoceros
, the only members of the genus Rhinoceros
, first appear in the fossil record in Asia around 1.6 million–3.3 million years ago. Molecular estimates, however, suggest the species may have diverged much earlier, around 11.7 million years ago. Although belonging to the type genus
, the Indian and Javan rhinoceros are not believed to be closely related to other rhino species. Different studies have hypothesized that they may be closely related to the extinct Gaindetherium or Punjabitherium. A detailed cladistic
analysis of the Rhinocerotidae placed Rhinoceros and the extinct Punjabitherium in a clade with Dicerorhinus, the Sumatran Rhino. Other studies have suggested the Sumatran rhinoceros is more closely related to the two African species. The Sumatran Rhino may have diverged from the other Asian rhinos as long as 15 million years ago.
in modern times arrived in Lisbon
on May 20, 1515. King Manuel I of Portugal
planned to send the rhinoceros to Pope Leo X
, but the rhino perished in a shipwreck. Before dying, the rhino had been sketched by an unknown artist. The German artist Albrecht Dürer
saw the sketches and descriptions and carved a woodcut of the rhino, known ever after as Dürer's Rhinoceros
. Though the drawing had some anatomical inaccuracies (notably the hornlet protruding from the rhino's shoulder), his sketch became the enduring image of a rhinoceros in western culture for centuries.
The British public had their first chance to view a rhinoceros (presumably this species) in 1683; it unknowingly caused a political row when the notorious Judge Jeffreys
, in one of his lighter moments, spread a rumour that his chief rival, Lord Guildford
, had been seen riding on it.
Assam state of India has one-horned rhino as the official state animal. It is also the organizational logo for Assam Oil Company Ltd.
Vulnerable species
On 30 January 2010, the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species identified 9694 Vulnerable species, subspecies and varieties, stocks and sub-populations.-References:...
, the large mammal
Mammal
Mammals are members of a class of air-breathing vertebrate animals characterised by the possession of endothermy, hair, three middle ear bones, and mammary glands functional in mothers with young...
is primarily found in parts of north-eastern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
and in protected areas in the Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, where populations are confined to the riverine grasslands in the foothills of the Himalayas
Himalayas
The Himalaya Range or Himalaya Mountains Sanskrit: Devanagari: हिमालय, literally "abode of snow"), usually called the Himalayas or Himalaya for short, is a mountain range in Asia, separating the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau...
. Typically weighing between 1600 to 3500 kg (3,527.4 to 7,716.2 lb), it is the fourth or fifth largest land animal.
The Indian rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain
Indo-Gangetic plain
The northern Plains also known as the Indo - Gangetic Plain and The North Indian River Plain is a large and fertile plain encompassing most of northern and eastern India, the most populous parts of Pakistan, parts of southern Nepal and virtually all of Bangladesh...
but excessive hunting reduced their natural habitat drastically. Today, about 3,000 rhinos live in the wild, 2,000 of which are found in India's Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
alone.
Characteristics
The Indian rhinoceros is a heavily built species with an average head and body length of 412 cm (162.2 in) and an average girth of 396 cm (155.9 in). Females range in height from 147 to 173 cm (4.8 to 5.7 ft) and weigh about 1600 kg (3,527.4 lb). Males range in height from 163 to 193 cm (5.3 to 6.3 ft) and weigh 2000 to 2130 kg (4,409.2 to 4,695.8 lb). The skullSkull
The skull is a bony structure in the head of many animals that supports the structures of the face and forms a cavity for the brain.The skull is composed of two parts: the cranium and the mandible. A skull without a mandible is only a cranium. Animals that have skulls are called craniates...
is heavy with a basal length above 60 cm (23.6 in) and an occiput
Occiput
The occiput is the anatomical term for the posterior portion of the head, in insects the posterior part of those head capsule.-Clinical significance:Trauma to the occiput can cause a basilar skull fracture....
above 19 cm (7.5 in).
The largest sized specimens can range up to 4000 kg (8,818.5 lb).
The Rhino's single horn
Horn (anatomy)
A horn is a pointed projection of the skin on the head of various animals, consisting of a covering of horn surrounding a core of living bone. True horns are found mainly among the ruminant artiodactyls, in the families Antilocapridae and Bovidae...
is present in both males and females, but not on newborn young. The black horn, like human fingernails, is pure keratin
Keratin
Keratin refers to a family of fibrous structural proteins. Keratin is the key of structural material making up the outer layer of human skin. It is also the key structural component of hair and nails...
and starts to show after about 6 years. In most adults, the horn reaches a length of about 25 cm (9.8 in), but has been recorded up to 57.2 cm (22.5 in) in length. The nasal horn is slightly back-curved with a base of about 18.5 cm (7.3 in) by 12 cm (4.7 in) that rapidly narrows until a smooth, even stem part begins about 55 mm (2.2 in) above base. In captive animals, the horn is frequently worn down to a thick knob.
The Indian rhinoceros has thick, silver-brown skin, which becomes pinkish near the large skin folds that cover its body. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. It has very little body hair, aside from eyelashes, ear-fringes and tail-brush. Males develop thick neck-folds.
Distribution and habitat
Indian subcontinent
The Indian subcontinent, also Indian Subcontinent, Indo-Pak Subcontinent or South Asian Subcontinent is a region of the Asian continent on the Indian tectonic plate from the Hindu Kush or Hindu Koh, Himalayas and including the Kuen Lun and Karakoram ranges, forming a land mass which extends...
, along the Indus
Indus River
The Indus River is a major river which flows through Pakistan. It also has courses through China and India.Originating in the Tibetan plateau of western China in the vicinity of Lake Mansarovar in Tibet Autonomous Region, the river runs a course through the Ladakh district of Jammu and Kashmir and...
, Ganges and Brahmaputra River
Brahmaputra River
The Brahmaputra , also called Tsangpo-Brahmaputra, is a trans-boundary river and one of the major rivers of Asia. It is the only Indian river that is attributed the masculine gender and thus referred to as a in Indo-Aryan languages and languages with Indo-Aryan influence...
basins, from Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
to the Indian-Burmese
Myanmar
Burma , officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar , is a country in Southeast Asia. Burma is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest, the Bay of Bengal to the southwest, and the Andaman Sea on the south....
border, including parts of Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
and Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. They may have also existed in Myanmar, southern China and
Indochina
Indochina
The Indochinese peninsula, is a region in Southeast Asia. It lies roughly southwest of China, and east of India. The name has its origins in the French, Indochine, as a combination of the names of "China" and "India", and was adopted when French colonizers in Vietnam began expanding their territory...
.They prefer the alluvial plain grasslands of the Terai
Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands
The Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands is a narrow lowland ecoregion at the base of the Himalayas, about wide and a continuation of the Gangetic Plain colloquially called Terai in the Ganges Basin east to Nepal, then Dooars in West Bengal, Bangladesh, Bhutan and Assam east to the Brahmaputra River...
and Brahmaputra basin. As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes their range has gradually been reduced so that by the 19th century, they only survived in the Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
grasslands of southern Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, northern Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh abbreviation U.P. , is a state located in the northern part of India. With a population of over 200 million people, it is India's most populous state, as well as the world's most populous sub-national entity...
, northern Bihar
Bihar
Bihar is a state in eastern India. It is the 12th largest state in terms of geographical size at and 3rd largest by population. Almost 58% of Biharis are below the age of 25, which is the highest proportion in India....
, northern Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
, and in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
.
On the former abundance of the species, Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas C. Jerdon
Thomas Caverhill Jerdon was a British physician, zoologist and botanist. He is best remembered for his pioneering works on the ornithology of India...
wrote in 1867:
Today, their range has further shrunk to a few pockets in southern Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
, northern Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
and the Brahmaputra Valley. In the 1980s, rhinos were frequently seen in the narrow plain area of Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan
Bhutan
Bhutan , officially the Kingdom of Bhutan, is a landlocked state in South Asia, located at the eastern end of the Himalayas and bordered to the south, east and west by the Republic of India and to the north by the People's Republic of China...
. Today, they are restricted to habitats surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that they often occur in adjacent cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests.
Rhinos are regionally extinct in Pakistan.
Populations
- in Kaziranga National ParkKaziranga National ParkKaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. A World Heritage Site, the park hosts two-thirds of the world's Great One-horned Rhinoceroses. Kaziranga boasts the highest density of tigers among protected areas in the world and was...
: 1,855 — increased from 366 in 1966 - in Jaldapara Wildlife SanctuaryJaldapara Wildlife SanctuaryJaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary is a protect park situated at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in Alipurduar Sub-Division of Jalpaiguri District in West Bengal and on the bank of river Torsa and have an area of 141 km² and altitude of 61 m...
: 108 — increased from 84 in 2002 - in Pobitora Wildlife SanctuaryPobitora Wildlife SanctuaryPobitora or Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife reserve in the Marigaon district of the state of Assam in India. It is located about 30km east of Guwahati as the crow flies.The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is about 48 km by road from Guwahati...
: 81 — increased from 54 in 1987 - in Orang National ParkOrang National ParkThe Orang National Park, located on the north bank of the Brahmaputra River in the Darrang and Sonitpur districts of Assam, India, covers an area of . It was established as a sanctuary in 1985 and declared a National Park on 13 April 1999...
: 68 — increased from 35 in 1972 - in GorumaraGorumara National ParkGorumara National Park is a National Park in northern West Bengal, India. Located in the Terai region of the Himalayan foothills, it is a medium-sized park with grasslands and forests. It is primarily known for its population of Indian Rhinoceros...
: 27 — increased from 22 in 2002 - in Dudhwa National ParkDudhwa National ParkDudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh, India and covers an area of 680 km2 with a buffer area of almost 190 km2. In altitude it ranges from about to . The international border with Nepal forms the northern boundary, and the River Suheli the southern boundary. Its...
: 21 - in Manas National ParkManas National ParkManas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary is a Wildlife Sanctuary, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve, an Elephant Reserve and a Biosphere Reserve in Assam, India. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it is contiguous with the Royal Manas National park in Bhutan...
: 3 - in Katarniaghat Wildlife SanctuaryKatarniaghat Wildlife SanctuaryKatarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary is a part of the Dudhwa Tiger Reserve, and is located in Uttar Pradesh near the India-Nepal border, in the Terai area of Bahraich district...
: 2
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary shelters the highest density of Indian rhinos in the world — with 84 individuals in 2009 in an area of 38.8 km² (15 sq mi).
In Nepal, a total of 378 individuals were estimated to live by 2007, most of them in Chitwan National Park, 35 individuals in Bardia National Park, and six individuals in Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of the Far-Western Region, Nepal, covering of open grassland, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an altitude of . It was gazetted in 1973 as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve...
. In March 2008, a rhino count conducted in the Terai recorded 408 individuals in and around Chitwan National Park, and 22 individuals
in the Karnali flood plain area of Bardia National Park. There are 5 rhinos in the Sukla Phanta
Wildlife Reserve.
In Pakistan's Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Sohanra is a national park of Pakistan situated in Bahawalpur district. Like the Changa Manga forest, it is one of several forests planted by the British to provide raw materials for railroad construction during their occupation of the Indian subcontinent...
, two rhinos from Nepal were introduced.
Ecology and behavior
Animal communication
Animal communication is any behavior on the part of one animal that has an effect on the current or future behaviour of another animal. The study of animal communication, is sometimes called Zoosemiotics has played an important part in the...
have been recorded.
Indian rhinos have few natural enemies, except for tiger
Tiger
The tiger is the largest cat species, reaching a total body length of up to and weighing up to . Their most recognizable feature is a pattern of dark vertical stripes on reddish-orange fur with lighter underparts...
s who sometimes kill unguarded calves, but adult rhinos are less vulnerable due to their size. Mynahs and egret
Egret
An egret is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes during the breeding season. Many egrets are members of the genera Egretta or Ardea which contain other species named as herons rather than egrets...
s both eat invertebrates from the rhino's skin and around its feet. Tabanus flies, a type of horse-fly
Horse-fly
Insects in the order Diptera, family Tabanidae, are commonly called horse flies. Often considered pests for the bites that many inflict, they are among the world's largest true flies. They are known to be extremely noisy during flight. They are also important pollinators of flowers, especially in...
are known to bite rhinos. The rhinos are also vulnerable to diseases spread by parasites such as leech
Leech
Leeches are segmented worms that belong to the phylum Annelida and comprise the subclass Hirudinea. Like other oligochaetes such as earthworms, leeches share a clitellum and are hermaphrodites. Nevertheless, they differ from other oligochaetes in significant ways...
es, tick
Tick
Ticks are small arachnids in the order Ixodida, along with mites, constitute the subclass Acarina. Ticks are ectoparasites , living by hematophagy on the blood of mammals, birds, and sometimes reptiles and amphibians...
s, and nematode
Nematode
The nematodes or roundworms are the most diverse phylum of pseudocoelomates, and one of the most diverse of all animals. Nematode species are very difficult to distinguish; over 28,000 have been described, of which over 16,000 are parasitic. It has been estimated that the total number of nematode...
s. Anthrax
Anthrax
Anthrax is an acute disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis. Most forms of the disease are lethal, and it affects both humans and other animals...
and the blood-disease septicemia are known to occur.
They can run at speeds of up to 55 km/h (34.2 mph) for short periods of time and are excellent swimmers. They have excellent senses of hearing and smell but relatively poor eyesight.
Diet
The Indian rhinoceros is a grazer. Their diet consists almost entirely of grasses, but the rhino is also known to eat leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruits and submerged and floating aquatic plants.Feeding occurs during the morning and evening. The rhino uses its prehensile lip to grasp grass stems, bend the stem down, bite off the top, and then eat the grass. With very tall grasses or saplings, the rhino will often walk over the plant, with its legs on both sides, using the weight of its body to push the end of the plant down to the level of the mouth. Mothers also use this technique to make food edible for their calves. They drink for a minute or two at a time, often imbibing water filled with rhinoceros urine.
Social life
The Indian rhinoceros forms a variety of social groupings. Adult males are generally solitary, except for mating and fighting. Adult females are largely solitary when they are without calves. Mothers will stay close to their calves for up to four years after their birth, sometimes allowing an older calf to continue to accompany her once a newborn calf arrives. Subadult males and females form consistent groupings as well. Groups of two or three young males will often form on the edge of the home ranges of dominant males, presumably for protection in numbers. Young females are slightly less social than the males. Indian Rhinos also form short-term groupings, particularly at forest wallows during the monsoon season and in grasslands during March and April. Groups of up to 10 rhinos may gather in wallows—typically a dominant male with females and calves, but no subadult males.The Indian rhinoceros makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak-panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the rhino uses olfactory communication. Adult males urinate backwards, as far as 3–4 meters behind them, often in response to being disturbed by observers. Like all rhinos, the Indian rhinoceros often defecates near other large dung piles. The Indian Rhino has pedal scent glands which are used to mark their presence at these rhino latrines. Males have been observed walking with their heads to the ground as if sniffing, presumably following the scent of females.
In aggregations, Indian Rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouth. Adult males are the primary instigators in fights. Fights between dominant males are the most common cause of rhino mortality and males are also very aggressive toward females during courtship. Males will chase females over long distances and even attack them face-to-face. Unlike African Rhinos, the Indian Rhino fights with its incisors, rather than its horns.
Reproduction
In zoos, females may breed as young as four, but in the wild females are usually six before breeding begins. The higher age in the wild may reflect that females need to be large enough to avoid being killed by the aggressive males. The Indian rhinoceros has a very lengthy gestation period of around 15.7 months. The interval between births ranges from 34–51 months. In captivity, males may breed at five years. But in the wild, dominant males do the breeding and rhinos do not attain dominance until they are older and larger. In one five-year field study, only one rhino who achieved mating success was estimated to be younger than 15.In captivity, four are known to have lived over 40 years, the oldest living to be 47.
Threats
Assam
Assam , also, rarely, Assam Valley and formerly the Assam Province , is a northeastern state of India and is one of the most culturally and geographically distinct regions of the country...
individually shot more than 200 rhinos. By 1908, the population in Kaziranga had decreased to around 12 individuals. In the early 1900s, the species had declined to near extinction.
Poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
for rhinoceros horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhino after conservation measures were put in place from the beginning of the 20th century, when legal hunting ended. From 1980 to 1993, 692 rhinos were poached in India. In India's Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary 41 rhinos were killed in 1983, virtually the entire population of the sanctuary. By the mid-1990s, poaching had rendered the species extinct there.
In 1950, Chitwan
Chitwan Valley
Chitwan Valley is an Inner Terai valley in the south of Nepal, encompassing the districts of Makwanpur, Chitwan and Nawalparasi. The valley is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion of about 150 km length and 30–48 km width....
’s forest and grasslands extended over more than 2600 km² (1,003.9 sq mi) and were home to about 800 rhinos. When poor farmers from the mid-hills moved to the Chitwan Valley in search of arable land, the area was subsequently opened for settlement, and poaching
Poaching
Poaching is the illegal taking of wild plants or animals contrary to local and international conservation and wildlife management laws. Violations of hunting laws and regulations are normally punishable by law and, collectively, such violations are known as poaching.It may be illegal and in...
of wildlife became rampant. The Chitwan population has repeatedly been jeopardized by poaching: in 2002 alone, poachers have killed 37 animals cruelly in order to saw off and sell their valuable horns.
There are six recorded ways of killing rhinos:
- Shooting is by far the most common method used; rhino horn traders hire sharpshooters and often supply them with rifles and ammunition.
- Trapping in a pit depends largely on the terrain and availability of grass to cover it; pits are dug out in such a way that a fallen animal has little room to manoeuvre with its head slightly above the pit, so that it is easy to saw off the horn.
- Electrocuting is used where high voltage powerlines pass through or near a protected area, to which poachers hook a long insulated rod connected to a wire, which is suspended above a rhino path.
- Poisoning by smearing zinc phosphideZinc phosphideZinc phosphide is an inorganic chemical compound.- Reactions :Zinc phosphide can be prepared by the reaction of zinc with phosphorus:Zinc phosphide will react with water to produce phosphine and zinc hydroxide :-Rodenticide:...
rat poison or pesticidePesticidePesticides are substances or mixture of substances intended for preventing, destroying, repelling or mitigating any pest.A pesticide may be a chemical unicycle, biological agent , antimicrobial, disinfectant or device used against any pest...
s on salt lickSalt lickA mineral lick is a natural mineral deposit where animals in nutrient-poor ecosystems can obtain essential mineral nutrients...
s frequently used by rhinos. - Spearing has only been recorded in Chitwan National Park.
- With a noose, which cuts through the rhino's skin and kills it by strangulation.
Poaching, mainly for the use of the horn in Traditional Chinese Medicine
Traditional Chinese medicine
Traditional Chinese Medicine refers to a broad range of medicine practices sharing common theoretical concepts which have been developed in China and are based on a tradition of more than 2,000 years, including various forms of herbal medicine, acupuncture, massage , exercise , and dietary therapy...
has remained a constant and has led to decreases in several important populations. Apart from this, there have been serious declines in quality of habitat in some areas, due to
- severe invasion by alien plants into grasslands affecting some populations;
- demonstrated reductions in the extent of grasslands and wetland habitats due to woodland encroachment and silting up of beels;
- grazing by domestic livestock.
The species is inherently at risk because over 70% of its population occurs at a single site, Kaziranga National Park. Any catastrophic event such as disease, civil disorder, poaching, habitat loss would have a devastating impact on the Indian rhino's status. On the other hand, small population of rhinos may be prone to in-breeding depression.
Conservation
The species has been included on CITES Appendix I since 1975. The Indian and Nepalese governments have taken major steps towards Indian Rhinoceros conservation, especially with the help of the World Wide Fund for NatureWorld Wide Fund for Nature
The World Wide Fund for Nature is an international non-governmental organization working on issues regarding the conservation, research and restoration of the environment, formerly named the World Wildlife Fund, which remains its official name in Canada and the United States...
(WWF) and other non-governmental organizations. In the early 1980s, a rhino translocation scheme was initiated. The first pair of rhinos was reintroduced from Nepal's Terai
Terai
The Terai is a belt of marshy grasslands, savannas, and forests located south of the outer foothills of the Himalaya, the Siwalik Hills, and north of the Indo-Gangetic Plain of the Ganges, Brahmaputra and their tributaries. The Terai belongs to the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion...
to Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
's Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Suhanra National Park
Lal Sohanra is a national park of Pakistan situated in Bahawalpur district. Like the Changa Manga forest, it is one of several forests planted by the British to provide raw materials for railroad construction during their occupation of the Indian subcontinent...
in Punjab
Punjab (Pakistan)
Punjab is the most populous province of Pakistan, with approximately 45% of the country's total population. Forming most of the Punjab region, the province is bordered by Kashmir to the north-east, the Indian states of Punjab and Rajasthan to the east, the Pakistani province of Sindh to the...
in 1982.
In India
In 1910, all rhino hunting in India became prohibited. In 1984, five rhinos were relocated to Dudhwa National ParkDudhwa National Park
Dudhwa National Park is located in the Terai of Uttar Pradesh, India and covers an area of 680 km2 with a buffer area of almost 190 km2. In altitude it ranges from about to . The international border with Nepal forms the northern boundary, and the River Suheli the southern boundary. Its...
— four from the fields outside the Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary
Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary
Pobitora or Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary is a wildlife reserve in the Marigaon district of the state of Assam in India. It is located about 30km east of Guwahati as the crow flies.The Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary is about 48 km by road from Guwahati...
and one from Goalpara.
In Nepal
In 1957, the country's first conservation law inured to the protection of rhinos and their habitatHabitat
* Habitat , a place where a species lives and grows*Human habitat, a place where humans live, work or play** Space habitat, a space station intended as a permanent settlement...
. In 1959, Edward Pritchard Gee
Edward Pritchard Gee
Edward Pritchard Gee was a Cambridge educated, Anglo-Indian tea-planter and an amateur naturalist in Assam, India. He is credited with the 1953 discovery of Gee's Golden Langur...
undertook a survey of the Chitwan Valley
Chitwan Valley
Chitwan Valley is an Inner Terai valley in the south of Nepal, encompassing the districts of Makwanpur, Chitwan and Nawalparasi. The valley is part of the Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands ecoregion of about 150 km length and 30–48 km width....
, recommended creation of a protected area north of the Rapti River
East Rapti River
East Rapti River, a small river draining the Chitwan valley in Nepal, flowing west to join the Narayani River a short distance north of the Indian border....
and of a wildlife sanctuary south of the river for a trial period of ten years. After his subsequent survey of Chitwan in 1963, he recommended extension of the sanctuary to the south. By the end of the 1960s, only 95 rhinos remained in the Chitwan Valley. The dramatic decline of the rhino population and the extent of poaching prompted the government to institute the Gaida Gasti – a rhino reconnaissance patrol of 130 armed men and a network of guard posts all over Chitwan. To prevent the extinction of rhinos the Chitwan National Park was gazetted in December 1970, with borders delineated the following year and established in 1973, initially encompassing an area of 544 km² (210 sq mi). Since 1973, the population has recovered well and increased to 544 animals around the turn of the century. To ensure the survival of rhinos in case of epidemics animals are translocated annually from Chitwan to the Bardia National Park and the Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve
Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve is a protected area in the Terai of the Far-Western Region, Nepal, covering of open grassland, forests, riverbeds and tropical wetlands at an altitude of . It was gazetted in 1973 as Royal Sukla Phanta Wildlife Reserve...
since 1986.
In captivity
The Indian rhinoceros was initially difficult to breed in captivity. The first recorded captive birth of a rhinoceros was in Kathmandu in 1826, but another successful birth did not occur for nearly 100 years. In 1925, a rhino was born in KolkataKolkata
Kolkata , formerly known as Calcutta, is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal. Located on the east bank of the Hooghly River, it was the commercial capital of East India...
. No rhinoceros was successfully bred in Europe until 1956. On September 14, 1956 Rudra was born in Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel
Zoo Basel is a non-profit zoo located within the city of Basel, Switzerland. Its official name is Zoologischer Garten Basel — or in English: Basel Zoological Garden. Basel residents, however, call their zoo affectionately Zolli...
, Switzerland
Switzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
. In the second half of the 20th century, zoos became adept at breeding Indian rhinoceros. By 1983, nearly 40 babies had been born in captivity. As of 2010, 32 Indian rhinos were born at Zoo Basel
History of Zoo Basel
The Zoo Basel is located in Basel, Switzerland. Established in 1874, it is Switzerland's oldest and largest zoo and a major tourist attraction with nearly 1.7 million visitors per year....
, which means that most animals kept in a zoo are somehow related to the population in the zoo of Basel
Basel
Basel or Basle In the national languages of Switzerland the city is also known as Bâle , Basilea and Basilea is Switzerland's third most populous city with about 166,000 inhabitants. Located where the Swiss, French and German borders meet, Basel also has suburbs in France and Germany...
, Switzerland. Due to the success of Zoo Basel's breeding program
Breeding programs at Zoo Basel
The breeding programs at Zoo Basel have had many highlights since the zoos opening in 1874. These include the worldwide first zoo births of an Indian rhinoceros and Greater Flamingo hatch, as well as the first European gorilla birth...
, the International Studbook
Breed registry
A breed registry, also known as a stud book or register, in animal husbandry and the hobby of animal fancy, is an official list of animals within a specific breed whose parents are known. Animals are usually registered by their breeders when they are still young...
for the species has been kept there since 1972. Since 1990, the Indian rhino European Endangered Species Programme
European Endangered Species Programme
The European Endangered Species Programme or EEP is the most intensive type of population management for a species kept in European Association of Zoos and Aquaria zoos...
is being coordinated there as well, which ensures that the captive global Indian rhinoceros population stays genetically as healthy as possible. As of 2010, 174 rhinos are kept in zoos worldwide.
In June 2009, an Indian rhino was artificially inseminated
Artificial insemination
Artificial insemination, or AI, is the process by which sperm is placed into the reproductive tract of a female for the purpose of impregnating the female by using means other than sexual intercourse or natural insemination...
using sperm collected four years previously and cryo-preserved
Cryopreservation
Cryopreservation is a process where cells or whole tissues are preserved by cooling to low sub-zero temperatures, such as 77 K or −196 °C . At these low temperatures, any biological activity, including the biochemical reactions that would lead to cell death, is effectively stopped...
at the Cincinnati Zoo’s CryoBioBank before being thawed and utilized. She gave birth to a male calf in October 2010. The calf died 12 hours after birth.
Taxonomy
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
, meaning there are no distinct subspecies. Rhinoceros unicornis was the type species
Type species
In biological nomenclature, a type species is both a concept and a practical system which is used in the classification and nomenclature of animals and plants. The value of a "type species" lies in the fact that it makes clear what is meant by a particular genus name. A type species is the species...
for the rhinoceros family, first classified by Carolus Linnaeus
Carolus Linnaeus
Carl Linnaeus , also known after his ennoblement as , was a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, who laid the foundations for the modern scheme of binomial nomenclature. He is known as the father of modern taxonomy, and is also considered one of the fathers of modern ecology...
in 1758.
Evolution
Ancestral rhinoceroses first diverged from other Perissodactyls in the Early Eocene. Mitochondrial DNA comparison suggests that the ancestors of modern rhinos split from the ancestors of EquidaeEquidae
Equidae is the taxonomic family of horses and related animals, including the extant horses, donkeys, and zebras, and many other species known only from fossils. All extant species are in the genus Equus...
around 50 million years ago. The extant family, the Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the Late Eocene in Eurasia
Eurasia
Eurasia is a continent or supercontinent comprising the traditional continents of Europe and Asia ; covering about 52,990,000 km2 or about 10.6% of the Earth's surface located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres...
, and the ancestors of the extant rhino species dispersed from Asia beginning in the Miocene
Miocene
The Miocene is a geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about . The Miocene was named by Sir Charles Lyell. Its name comes from the Greek words and and means "less recent" because it has 18% fewer modern sea invertebrates than the Pliocene. The Miocene follows the Oligocene...
.
Fossils of Rhinoceros unicornis appear in the Middle Pleistocene
Middle Pleistocene
The Middle Pleistocene, more specifically referred to as the Ionian stage, is a period of geologic time from ca. 781 to 126 thousand years ago....
. In the Pleistocene
Pleistocene
The Pleistocene is the epoch from 2,588,000 to 11,700 years BP that spans the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
, the Rhinoceros genus ranged throughout South
South Asia
South Asia, also known as Southern Asia, is the southern region of the Asian continent, which comprises the sub-Himalayan countries and, for some authorities , also includes the adjoining countries to the west and the east...
and Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, with specimens located on Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. Into the Holocene
Holocene
The Holocene is a geological epoch which began at the end of the Pleistocene and continues to the present. The Holocene is part of the Quaternary period. Its name comes from the Greek words and , meaning "entirely recent"...
, some rhinoceros lived as far west as Gujarat and Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
until as recently as 3,200 years ago.
The Indian and Javan Rhinoceros
Javan Rhinoceros
The Javan Rhinoceros or Lesser One-horned Rhinoceros is a member of the family Rhinocerotidae and one of five extant rhinoceroses...
, the only members of the genus Rhinoceros
Rhinoceros (genus)
The members of the genus Rhinoceros are the one-horned rhinoceroses. The word "rhinoceros" is of Greek origin; "rhino" meaning "nose", and "ceros" meaning "horn". The genus contains two species, the Indian Rhinoceros and the Javan Rhinoceros...
, first appear in the fossil record in Asia around 1.6 million–3.3 million years ago. Molecular estimates, however, suggest the species may have diverged much earlier, around 11.7 million years ago. Although belonging to the type genus
Type genus
In biological classification, a type genus is a representative genus, as with regard to a biological family. The term and concept is used much more often and much more formally in zoology than it is in botany, and the definition is dependent on the nomenclatural Code that applies:* In zoological...
, the Indian and Javan rhinoceros are not believed to be closely related to other rhino species. Different studies have hypothesized that they may be closely related to the extinct Gaindetherium or Punjabitherium. A detailed cladistic
Clade
A clade is a group consisting of a species and all its descendants. In the terms of biological systematics, a clade is a single "branch" on the "tree of life". The idea that such a "natural group" of organisms should be grouped together and given a taxonomic name is central to biological...
analysis of the Rhinocerotidae placed Rhinoceros and the extinct Punjabitherium in a clade with Dicerorhinus, the Sumatran Rhino. Other studies have suggested the Sumatran rhinoceros is more closely related to the two African species. The Sumatran Rhino may have diverged from the other Asian rhinos as long as 15 million years ago.
In Culture
The Indian rhinoceros was the first rhino widely known outside its range. The first rhinoceros to reach EuropeEurope
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in modern times arrived in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on May 20, 1515. King Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I of Portugal
Manuel I , the Fortunate , 14th king of Portugal and the Algarves was the son of Infante Ferdinand, Duke of Viseu, , by his wife, Infanta Beatrice of Portugal...
planned to send the rhinoceros to Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X
Pope Leo X , born Giovanni di Lorenzo de' Medici, was the Pope from 1513 to his death in 1521. He was the last non-priest to be elected Pope. He is known for granting indulgences for those who donated to reconstruct St. Peter's Basilica and his challenging of Martin Luther's 95 Theses...
, but the rhino perished in a shipwreck. Before dying, the rhino had been sketched by an unknown artist. The German artist Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer
Albrecht Dürer was a German painter, printmaker, engraver, mathematician, and theorist from Nuremberg. His prints established his reputation across Europe when he was still in his twenties, and he has been conventionally regarded as the greatest artist of the Northern Renaissance ever since...
saw the sketches and descriptions and carved a woodcut of the rhino, known ever after as Dürer's Rhinoceros
Dürer's Rhinoceros
Dürer's Rhinoceros is the name commonly given to a woodcut executed by German painter and printmaker Albrecht Dürer in 1515. The image was based on a written description and brief sketch by an unknown artist of an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon earlier that year. Dürer never saw the...
. Though the drawing had some anatomical inaccuracies (notably the hornlet protruding from the rhino's shoulder), his sketch became the enduring image of a rhinoceros in western culture for centuries.
The British public had their first chance to view a rhinoceros (presumably this species) in 1683; it unknowingly caused a political row when the notorious Judge Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys
George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys of Wem, PC , also known as "The Hanging Judge", was an English judge. He became notable during the reign of King James II, rising to the position of Lord Chancellor .- Early years and education :Jeffreys was born at the family estate of Acton Hall, near Wrexham,...
, in one of his lighter moments, spread a rumour that his chief rival, Lord Guildford
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford
Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford PC KC was the third son of the 4th Baron North, and was created Baron Guilford in 1683, after becoming Lord Keeper of the Great Seal in succession to Lord Nottingham....
, had been seen riding on it.
Assam state of India has one-horned rhino as the official state animal. It is also the organizational logo for Assam Oil Company Ltd.
See also
- The Soul of the RhinoThe Soul of the RhinoThe Soul of the Rhino is a book about a Nepali adventure with kings and elephant drivers, billionaires and bureaucrats, shamans and scientists, and the Indian Rhinoceros.-Overview:...
(book) - KarkadannKarkadannThe Karkadann was a mythical creature said to live on the grassy plains of India, Persia, and North Africa. Referred to by Elmer Suhr as the "Persian version of the unicorn," its mention by Muslim writers may depend on earlier Greek texts and may have an origin in an account from the Mahabharata...
- a mythological creature based upon the Indian Rhinoceros
Further reading
External links
- The Rhino Resource Center
- International Rhino Foundation: Greater One-Horned Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis)
- Nepal Rhino Conservation
- Indian Rhino in Kaziranga National Park Official website
- TheBigZoo.com: Greater Indian Rhinoceros
- Indian Rhino page at AnimalInfo.org
- Indian Rhino page at AmericaZoo.com
- Indian Rhinoceros page at nature.ca
- Page Rhinocéros indien à nature.ca
- Indian Rhinoceros page at UltimateUngulate.com
- Population of Indian one-horned rhinoceros in India and Nepal
- Short narrated video about the Indian Rhinoceros
- Images, videos and information on the Indian Rhinoceros
- Asian Rhino Foundation
- Indian Rhino photo gallery
- Indian army to help prevent rhino poaching