White rhinoceros
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Why are rhinos important?
Rhinos are a keystone species, meaning they play a vitally important role in shaping and maintain their ecosystem. By wallowing in mud and water, rhinos help create natural waterholes which other animals can utilise. They also eat a lot of plants and then recycle nutrients in their ecosystem through their dung and urine. Their dung is an important habitat for numerous invertebrates, which, in turn, helps boost the populations of small birds and mammals who feed on insects.
Their feeding behaviour helps maintain savannah habitats and boosts the diversity of rainforests by creating openings in the canopy, allowing for new growth. Because rhinos have relatively large ranges, by protecting them and their habitat, it is possible to safeguard large numbers of other species.
There are five species of rhino: white rhino (Ceratotheriumsimum), black rhino (Dicerosbicornis), greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornus), Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinussumatrensis), Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)
Black rhino, Javan rhino, Suma
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Rhinoceros
Family of mammals
"Rhino" redirects here. For other uses, see Rhinoceros (disambiguation) and Rhino (disambiguation).
A rhinoceros (ry-NOSS-ə-rəss; from Ancient Greek ῥινόκερως (rhinókerōs) 'nose-horned'; from ῥίς (rhis) 'nose' and κέρας (kéras) 'horn';[1]pl.: rhinoceros or rhinoceroses), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates (perissodactyls) in the familyRhinocerotidae; it can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea. Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia.
Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna: all weigh over half a tonne in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains 400–600 g (14–21 oz) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally
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Rhino facts: Everything you need to know
Rhino horns are made of keratin, a fibrous protein found in hair, fingernails, scales, and other parts of vertebrate animals. Elephant tusks are made of ivory, which consists of dentine, a calcified body tissue also found in human teeth.
Like fingernails, horns grow continuously throughout a rhino’s life and can be trimmed without causing pain. White, black, and Sumatran rhinos have two horns—a small horn in the back and a much larger one in the front. Javan and Indian rhinos each only have one horn.
5. What do rhinos use their horns for?
Male rhinos, especially the African species, use their horns as a show of strength and to express dominance. Those with the largest horns are seen as desirable mates by females. When presiding over his territory, a dominant male rhino will scare off other males by lowering his head and charging them with his horn.
Rhinos can also use their horns to dig for food and unearth small plants with edible roots. The white rhino will do this when conditions are dry and there isn
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