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A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five
extant Extant is the opposite of the word extinct. It may refer to: * Extant hereditary titles * Extant literature, surviving literature, such as ''Beowulf'', the oldest extant manuscript written in English * Extant taxon, a taxon which is not extinct, ...
species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the
family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...
Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily
Rhinocerotoidea Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily consisting of three family groups of odd-toed ungulates, three of which, the Amynodontidae, Hyracodontidae, and Paraceratheriidae, are extinct. The only extant family group is the Rhinocer ...
.) Two of the extant species are native to
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
, and three to
South South is one of the cardinal directions or Points of the compass, compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west. Etymology The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Pro ...
and
Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...
. Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining
megafauna In terrestrial zoology, the megafauna (from Greek μέγας ''megas'' "large" and New Latin ''fauna'' "animal life") comprises the large or giant animals of an area, habitat, or geological period, extinct and/or extant. The most common threshold ...
: all weigh at least one
tonne The tonne ( or ; symbol: t) is a unit of mass equal to 1000  kilograms. It is a non-SI unit accepted for use with SI. It is also referred to as a metric ton to distinguish it from the non-metric units of the short ton ( United State ...
in adulthood. They have a herbivorous diet, small brains (400–600 g) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick (1.5–5 cm), protective skin formed from layers of
collagen Collagen () is the main structural protein in the extracellular matrix found in the body's various connective tissues. As the main component of connective tissue, it is the most abundant protein in mammals, making up from 25% to 35% of the whole ...
positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their
hindgut The hindgut (or epigaster) is the posterior ( caudal) part of the alimentary canal. In mammals, it includes the distal one third of the transverse colon and the splenic flexure, the descending colon, sigmoid colon and up to the ano-rectal juncti ...
allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls, the two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pluck food. Rhinoceros are killed by poachers for their horns, which are bought and sold on the
black market A black market, underground economy, or shadow economy is a clandestine market or series of transactions that has some aspect of illegality or is characterized by noncompliance with an institutional set of rules. If the rule defines the se ...
for high prices, leading to most living rhinoceros species being considered endangered. The contemporary market for rhino horn is overwhelmingly driven by China and
Vietnam Vietnam or Viet Nam ( vi, Việt Nam, ), officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam,., group="n" is a country in Southeast Asia, at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of and population of 96 million, making i ...
, where it is bought by wealthy consumers to use in
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
, among other uses. Rhino horns are made of
keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...
, the same material as
hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
and fingernails, and there is no good evidence of any health benefits. A market also exists for rhino horn dagger handles in Yemen, which was the major source of demand for rhino horn in the 1970s and 1980s.


Taxonomy and naming

The word ''rhinoceros'' is derived through Latin from the grc, ῥῑνόκερως, which is composed of (''rhino-'', "
nose A nose is a protuberance in vertebrates that houses the nostrils, or nares, which receive and expel air for respiration alongside the mouth. Behind the nose are the olfactory mucosa and the sinuses. Behind the nasal cavity, air next passes th ...
") and (''keras'', "
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
") with a horn on the nose. The plural in English is ''rhinoceros'' or ''rhinoceroses''. The collective noun for a group of rhinoceroses is ''crash'' or ''herd''. The name has been in use since the 14th century. The family Rhinocerotidae consists of only four extant genera: ''
Ceratotherium ''Ceratotherium'' (Greek: "horn" (keratos), "beast" (therion)) is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium ...
'' (white rhinoceros), ''
Diceros ''Diceros'' (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos)) is a genus of rhinoceros containing the living black rhinoceros ''(Diceros bicornis)'' and at least one extinct species. Taxonomy ''Diceros'' is generally believed to have branched off from an ...
'' (black rhinoceros), ''
Dicerorhinus ''Dicerorhinus'' (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos), "nose" (rhinos)) is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros (''D. sumatrensis''), and several extinct species. The gen ...
'' (Sumatran rhinoceros), and ''
Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
'' (Indian and Javan rhinoceros). The living species fall into three categories. The two African species, the white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros, belong to the tribe Dicerotini, which originated in the middle
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
, about 14.2 million years ago. The species diverged during the early
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros, which diverged from one another about 10 million years ago. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only surviving representative of the Dicerorhinini. A subspecific hybrid white rhino (''Ceratotherium s. simum'' × ''C. s. cottoni'') was bred at the Dvůr Králové Zoo (Zoological Garden Dvur Kralove nad Labem) in the
Czech Republic The Czech Republic, or simply Czechia, is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Historically known as Bohemia, it is bordered by Austria to the south, Germany to the west, Poland to the northeast, and Slovakia to the southeast. The ...
in 1977. Interspecific hybridisation of black and white rhinoceros has also been confirmed. While the black rhinoceros has 84
chromosome A chromosome is a long DNA molecule with part or all of the genetic material of an organism. In most chromosomes the very long thin DNA fibers are coated with packaging proteins; in eukaryotic cells the most important of these proteins are ...
s (diploid number, 2N, per cell), all other rhinoceros species have 82 chromosomes. Chromosomal polymorphism might lead to varying chromosome counts. For instance, in a study there were three northern white rhinoceroses with 81 chromosomes.


Species


White

There are two
subspecies In biological classification, subspecies is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (morphology), but that can successfully interbreed. Not all species ...
of white rhinoceros: the
southern white rhinoceros The southern white rhinoceros or southern white rhino (''Ceratotherium simum simum'') is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). It is the most common and widespread subspecies ...
(''Ceratotherium simum simum'') and the northern white rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum cottoni''). As of 2013, the southern subspecies has a wild population of 20,405—making them the most abundant rhino subspecies in the world. The northern subspecies is critically endangered, with all that is known to remain being two captive females. There is no conclusive explanation of the name "white rhinoceros". A popular idea that "white" is a distortion of either the
Afrikaans Afrikaans (, ) is a West Germanic language that evolved in the Dutch Cape Colony from the Dutch vernacular of Holland proper (i.e., the Hollandic dialect) used by Dutch, French, and German settlers and their enslaved people. Afrikaans gra ...
word ''wyd'' or the
Dutch word Dutch ( ) is a West Germanic languages, West Germanic language spoken by about 25 million people as a first language and 5 million as a second language. It is the third most widely spoken Germanic language, after its close relatives German lan ...
''wijd'' (or its other possible spellings ''whyde'', ''weit'', etc.,), meaning "wide" and referring to the rhino's square lips, is not supported by linguistic studies. The white rhino has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. Females weigh and males . The head-and-body length is and the shoulder height is . On its snout it has two
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
. The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages in length and can reach . The white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its relatively large head. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey. Most of its body hair is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles, with the rest distributed rather sparsely over the rest of the body. White rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth that is used for grazing.


Black

The name "black rhinoceros" ('' Diceros bicornis'') was chosen to distinguish this species from the white rhinoceros ('' Ceratotherium simum''). This can be confusing, as the two species are not truly distinguishable by color. There are four subspecies of black rhino: South-central (''
Diceros bicornis minor The south-central black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis minor''), also known as the south-central hook-lipped rhinoceros or the lesser black rhino, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. In keeping with the rules of zoological nomenclature, the ...
''), the most numerous, which once ranged from central
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
south through
Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...
,
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
and
Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...
to northern and eastern
South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...
; South-western ('' Diceros bicornis occidentalis'') which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
, southern
Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year = 2020 , religion_ref = , coordina ...
, western
Botswana Botswana (, ), officially the Republic of Botswana ( tn, Lefatshe la Botswana, label=Setswana, ), is a landlocked country in Southern Africa. Botswana is topographically flat, with approximately 70 percent of its territory being the Kalahar ...
and western South Africa; East African (''
Diceros bicornis michaeli The eastern black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis michaeli''), also known as the East African black rhinoceros, is a subspecies of the black rhinoceros. Its numbers are very low due to poaching for its horn, and it is listed as critically endanger ...
''), primarily in
Tanzania Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
; and West African (''
Diceros bicornis longipes The western black rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis longipes'') or West African black rhinoceros is an extinct subspecies of the black rhinoceros. It was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. The western black rhinoceros was believed to have been ...
'') which was declared extinct in November 2011. The native Tswanan name ''keitloa'' describes a South African variation of the black rhino in which the posterior horn is equal to or longer than the anterior horn. An adult black rhinoceros stands high at the shoulder and is in length. An adult weighs from , exceptionally to , with the females being smaller than the males. Two
horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...
on the skull are made of
keratin Keratin () is one of a family of structural fibrous proteins also known as ''scleroproteins''. Alpha-keratin (α-keratin) is a type of keratin found in vertebrates. It is the key structural material making up scales, hair, nails, feathers, ho ...
with the larger front horn typically 50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. Sometimes, a third smaller horn may develop. The black rhino is much smaller than the
white rhino The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium simum'') is the largest extant species of rhinoceros. It has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. The white rhinoceros consists ...
, and has a pointed mouth, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding. During the latter half of the 20th century, their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the late 1960s to a record low of 2,410 in 1995. Since then, numbers have been steadily increasing at a continental level with numbers doubling to 4,880 by the end of 2010. As of 2008, the numbers are still 90% lower than three generations ago.


Indian

The Indian rhinoceros, or greater one-horned rhinoceros, (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') has a single
horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...
20 to 60 cm long. It is nearly as large as the African white rhino. Its thick, silver-brown skin folds into the shoulder, back, and rump, giving it an armored appearance. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and it has very little body hair. Grown males are larger than females in the wild, weighing from . Shoulder height is . Females weigh about and are long. The record-sized specimen was approximately . Indian rhinos once inhabited many areas ranging from
Pakistan Pakistan ( ur, ), officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan ( ur, , label=none), is a country in South Asia. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of almost 24 ...
to
Myanmar Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John C. Wells, Joh ...
and maybe even parts of
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
. Because of humans, they now exist in only several protected areas of
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(in
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
,
West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, and a few pairs in
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
) and
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
, plus a pair in
Lal Suhanra National Park Lal Suhanra is a national park in Pakistan that is situated in the Bahawalpur district of Punjab province. It is one of South Asia's largest nationals parks, and is a UNESCO declared Biosphere Reserve. Lal Sohanra is notable for the diversity of ...
in Pakistan reintroduced there from Nepal. They are confined to the tall
grassland A grassland is an area where the vegetation is dominated by grasses (Poaceae). However, sedge (Cyperaceae) and rush (Juncaceae) can also be found along with variable proportions of legumes, like clover, and other herbs. Grasslands occur natur ...
s and
forest A forest is an area of land dominated by trees. Hundreds of definitions of forest are used throughout the world, incorporating factors such as tree density, tree height, land use, legal standing, and ecological function. The United Nations' ...
s in the foothills of the
Himalayas The Himalayas, or Himalaya (; ; ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the planet's highest peaks, including the very highest, Mount Everest. Over 100 ...
. Two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses are now confined to the
Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...
situated in the
Golaghat district Golaghat district (Pron:ˌgəʊləˈgɑ:t) is an administrative district in the state of Assam in India. It attained district status in 1987. The district headquarters are located at Golaghat. The district occupies an and lies above sea level. ...
of
Assam Assam (; ) is a state in northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . The state is bordered by Bhutan and Arunachal Pradesh to the north; Nagaland and Manipur ...
, India.


Javan

The Javan rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros sondaicus'') is one of the most endangered large
mammal Mammals () are a group of vertebrate animals constituting the class Mammalia (), characterized by the presence of mammary glands which in females produce milk for feeding (nursing) their young, a neocortex (a region of the brain), fur or ...
s in the world. According to 2015 estimates, only about 60 remain, in Java, Indonesia, all in the wild. It is also the least known rhino species. Like the closely related, and larger, Indian rhinoceros, the Javan rhino has a single horn. Its hairless, hazy gray skin falls into folds into the shoulder, back, and rump, giving it an armored appearance. Its length reaches including the head, and its height . Adults are variously reported to weigh 900–1,400 kg or 1,360–2,000 kg.Rhino Guide
Javan Rhinoceros
/ref> Male horns can reach 26 cm in length, while in females they are knobs or altogether absent. These animals prefer dense lowland rain forest, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with large floodplains and mud wallows. Though once widespread throughout Asia, by the 1930s they were nearly hunted to extinction in
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
Peninsular Malaysia Peninsular Malaysia ( ms, Semenanjung Malaysia; Jawi: سمننجڠ مليسيا), or the States of Malaya ( ms, Negeri-negeri Tanah Melayu; Jawi: نڬري-نڬري تانه ملايو), also known as West Malaysia or the Malaysian Peninsula, ...
, and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
for the supposed medical powers of their horns and blood. As of 2015, only 58–61 individuals remain in Ujung Kulon National Park, Java, Indonesia. The last known Javan rhino in Vietnam was reportedly killed for its horn in 2011 by Vietnamese poachers. Now only Java contains the last Javan rhinos.


Sumatran

The Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis'') is the smallest extant rhinoceros species, as well as the one with the most
hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...
. It can be found at very high
altitude Altitude or height (also sometimes known as depth) is a distance measurement, usually in the vertical or "up" direction, between a reference datum and a point or object. The exact definition and reference datum varies according to the context ...
s in
Borneo Borneo (; id, Kalimantan) is the third-largest island in the world and the largest in Asia. At the geographic centre of Maritime Southeast Asia, in relation to major Indonesian islands, it is located north of Java, west of Sulawesi, and eas ...
and
Sumatra Sumatra is one of the Sunda Islands of western Indonesia. It is the largest island that is fully within Indonesian territory, as well as the sixth-largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 (182,812 mi.2), not including adjacent i ...
. Due to habitat loss and poaching, their numbers have declined and it has become the second most threatened rhinoceros. About 275 Sumatran rhinos are believed to remain. There are three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros: the Sumatran rhinoceros proper (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis''), the Bornean rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni'') and the possibly
extinct Extinction is the termination of a kind of organism or of a group of kinds (taxon), usually a species. The moment of extinction is generally considered to be the death of the last individual of the species, although the capacity to breed and ...
Northern Sumatran rhinoceros (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis''). A mature rhino typically stands about high at the shoulder, has a length of and weighs around , though the largest individuals have been known to weigh as much as . Like the
Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n species, it has two horns; the larger is the front (), with the smaller usually less than long. Males have much larger horns than the females. Hair can range from dense (the densest hair in young calves) to sparse. The color of these rhinos is reddish brown. The body is short and has stubby legs. The lip is
prehensile Prehensility is the quality of an appendage or organ (anatomy), organ that has Adaptation (biology), adapted for grasping or holding. The word is derived from the Latin term ''prehendere'', meaning "to grasp". The ability to grasp is likely der ...
. Sumatran rhinoceros are on the verge of extinction due to loss of habitat and illegal hunting. Once they were spread across South-east Asia, but now they are confined to several parts of Indonesia and Malaysia due to reproductive isolation. There were 320 ''D. sumatrensis'' in 1995, which by 2011 have dwindled to 216. It has been found through DNA comparison that the Sumatran rhinoceros is the most ancient extant rhinoceros and related to the extinct
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
n woolly rhino species, ''
Coelodonta ''Coelodonta'' (, from the Greek κοιλία, ''koilía'' and οδούς, ''odoús'', "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 ...
''. In 1994 Alan Rabinowitz publicly denounced governments, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions for lacking in their attempts to conserve the Sumatran rhinoceros. To conserve it, they would have to relocate them from small forests to breeding programs that could monitor their breeding success. To boost reproduction, the Malaysian and Indonesian governments could also agree to exchange the gametes of the Sumatran and (smaller) Bornean subspecies. The Indonesian and Malaysian governments have also proposed a single management unit for these two ancient subspecies. Plantations for palm oil have taken out the living areas and led to the eradication of the rhino in Sumatra.


Evolution

Rhinocerotoid Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily consisting of three family groups of odd-toed ungulates, three of which, the Amynodontidae, Hyracodontidae, and Paraceratheriidae, are extinct. The only extant family group is the Rhinocerotidae (true rhinocerose ...
s diverged from other perissodactyls by the early
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
. Fossils of '' Hyrachyus eximus'' found in North America date to this period. This small hornless ancestor resembled a
tapir Tapirs ( ) are large, herbivorous mammals belonging to the family Tapiridae. They are similar in shape to a pig, with a short, prehensile nose trunk. Tapirs inhabit jungle and forest regions of South and Central America, with one species inhabit ...
or small
horse The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million y ...
more than a rhino. Four families, sometimes grouped together as the
superfamily SUPERFAMILY is a database and search platform of structural and functional annotation for all proteins and genomes. It classifies amino acid sequences into known structural domains, especially into SCOP superfamilies. Domains are functional, str ...
Rhinocerotoidea Rhinocerotoidea is a superfamily (taxonomy), superfamily consisting of three family groups of odd-toed ungulates, three of which, the Amynodontidae, Hyracodontidae, and Paraceratheriidae, are extinct. The only extant family group is the Rhinocer ...
, evolved in the late Eocene, namely the Hyracodontidae, Amynodontidae, Paraceratheriidae and Rhinocerotidae.


Hyracodontidae

Hyracodontidae, also known as "running rhinos", showed adaptations for speed, and would have looked more like horses than modern rhinos. The smallest hyracodontids were dog-sized. Hyracodontids spread across Eurasia from the mid-Eocene to early Oligocene.


Amynodontidae

The Amynodontidae, also known as "aquatic rhinos", dispersed across
North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...
and
Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Japanese archipelago a ...
, from the late
Eocene The Eocene ( ) Epoch is a geological epoch (geology), epoch that lasted from about 56 to 33.9 million years ago (mya). It is the second epoch of the Paleogene Period (geology), Period in the modern Cenozoic Era (geology), Era. The name ''Eocene' ...
to early
Oligocene The Oligocene ( ) is a geologic epoch of the Paleogene Period and extends from about 33.9 million to 23 million years before the present ( to ). As with other older geologic periods, the rock beds that define the epoch are well identified but the ...
. The amynodontids were
hippopotamus The hippopotamus ( ; : hippopotamuses or hippopotami; ''Hippopotamus amphibius''), also called the hippo, common hippopotamus, or river hippopotamus, is a large semiaquatic mammal native to sub-Saharan Africa. It is one of only two extan ...
-like in their ecology and appearance, inhabiting rivers and lakes, and sharing many of the same adaptations to aquatic life as hippos.


Paraceratheriidae

The Paraceratheriidae, also known as paraceratheres or indricotheres, originated in the Eocene epoch and lived until the early
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
. The first paraceratheres were only about the size of large dogs, growing progressively larger in the late Eocene and Oligocene. The largest genus of the family was '' Paraceratherium'', which was more than twice as heavy as a bull African elephant, and was one of the largest land mammals that ever lived.


Rhinocerotidae

The family of all modern rhinoceros, the Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the Late Eocene in Eurasia. The earliest members of Rhinocerotidae were small and numerous; at least 26 genera lived in Eurasia and North America until a wave of extinctions in the middle Oligocene wiped out most of the smaller species. Several independent lineages survived. ''
Menoceras ''Menoceras'' ("Crescent Horns") is a genus of extinct, small rhinoceros endemic to most of southern North America and ranged as far south as Panama during the early Miocene epoch. It lived from around 30.7—19.7 Ma, existing for approximately ...
'', a pig-sized rhinoceros, had two horns side by side. The North American '' Teleoceras'' had short legs, a barrel chest and lived until about five million years ago. The last rhinos in the Americas became extinct during the
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
during the
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
. Alongside the extant species, four additional species of rhinoceros survived into the Last Glacial Period: the
woolly rhinoceros The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a me ...
(''Coelodonta antiquitatis''), '' Elasmotherium sibiricum'' and two species of '' Stephanorhinus,''
Merck's rhinoceros ''Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis'', also known as Merck's rhinoceros or the forest rhinoceros, is an extinct species of rhino known from the Middle to Late Pleistocene of Eurasia. One of the last members of the genus ''Stephanorhinus'', it is con ...
(''Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis'') and the
Narrow-nosed rhinoceros The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived in western Eurasia and North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe some 600,000 years ago, and survived there until ...
(''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus)''. The woolly rhinoceros appeared in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
around 1 million years ago and first arrived in Europe around 600,000 years ago. It reappeared 200,000 years ago, alongside the woolly mammoth, and became numerous. ''Elasmotherium'' was two meters tall, five meters long and weighed around five tons, with a single enormous horn, hypsodont teeth and long legs for running. The latest known well dated bones of ''Elasmotherium''in found in the south of Western
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a part of ...
(the area that is today
Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...
) date as recently as 39,000 years ago. The origin of the two living African rhinos can be traced to the late
Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was named by Scottish geologist Charles Lyell; the name comes from the Greek words (', "less") and (', "new") and means "less recen ...
() species ''Ceratotherium neumayri''. The lineages containing the living species diverged by the early
Pliocene The Pliocene ( ; also Pleiocene) is the epoch in the geologic time scale that extends from 5.333 million to 2.58 Cladogram showing the relationships of recent and Late Pleistocene rhinoceros species (minus ''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus)'' based on whole nuclear genomes, after Liu et al., 2021: denotes extinct taxa * Family Rhinocerotidae ** †'' Teletaceras'' ** †''
Uintaceras ''Uintaceras'' is an extinct genus of medium-sized rhinoceros that lived in North America (Wyoming and Utah) during the Middle Eocene, with only the type species ''U. radinskyi'', named in 1997, currently contained within the genus.L. T. Holbrook ...
'' ** Subfamily Rhinocerotinae *** Tribe Aceratheriini ****
† A dagger, obelisk, or obelus is a typographical mark that usually indicates a footnote if an asterisk has already been used. The symbol is also used to indicate death (of people) or extinction (of species). It is one of the modern descendan ...
''
Aceratherium ''Aceratherium'' (Greek: "without (a) horn" (keratos), "beast" (therion)) was a genus of rhinoceros of the subfamily Aceratheriinae that lived in Eurasia during the Miocene. Taxonomy ''Aceratherium'' was coined by Kaup (1832) for ''"Rhinoceros ...
'' lived from 33.9 to 3.4 Ma **** †''
Acerorhinus ''Acerorhinus'' was a genus of rhinoceros of the tribe Aceratheriini endemic to Asia from the Miocene, living from 13.6—7.0 mya existing for approximately . Among other locations, well-preserved ''Acerorhinus'' skull specimens have been found ...
'' 13.6–7.0 Ma **** †''
Alicornops ''Alicornops'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros belonging to the subfamily Aceratheriinae. It lived in Eurasia during the Miocene and Pliocene. Four species are known. Two of them, ''Alicornops complanatum'' and ''Alicornops laogouense'' were de ...
'' 13.7–5.3 Ma **** †''
Aphelops ''Aphelops'' (Greek: "smooth" (apheles), "face" (ops), in a reference of lacking a horn) is an extinct genus of hornless rhinoceros endemic to North America. It lived from the Middle Miocene to the early Pliocene, during which it was a common com ...
'' 20.43–5.33 Ma **** †'' Chilotheridium'' 23.0–11.6 Ma **** †''
Chilotherium ''Chilotherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros endemic to Eurasia during the Miocene through Pliocene living for 13.7—3.4 mya, existing for approximately .. Retrieved 19 May 2013. Description It was a large, robust animal reaching 1.5-1.8 ...
'' 13.7–3.4 Ma **** †''
Floridaceras ''Floridaceras'' is an extinct genus of Rhinocerotidae (rhinoceros) of the Miocene epoch (early Hemingfordian), endemic to North America, living from around ~20.6–16.3 Annum, Ma, existing for approximately . Taxonomy ''Floridaceras'' was named ...
'' 20.4–16.3 Ma **** †'' Hoploaceratherium'' 16.9–16.0 Ma **** †''
Mesaceratherium ''Mesaceratherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros. References

Miocene rhinoceroses Miocene mammals of Asia Fossil taxa described in 1969 {{paleo-oddtoedungulate-stub ...
'' **** †'' Peraceras'' 20.6–10.3 Ma **** †''
Plesiaceratherium ''Plesiaceratherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros. It includes two species: ''P. gracile'' from China and ''P. mirallesi'' from France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Euro ...
'' 20.0–11.6 Ma **** †''
Ronzotherium ''Ronzotherium'' is an extinct genus of Odd-toed ungulate, perissodactyl mammal from the family Rhinoceros, Rhinocerotidae. The name derives from the hill of 'Ronzon', the French locality near Le Puy-en-Velay at which it was first discovered, and ...
'' 37–23 Ma **** †''
Shansirhinus ''Shansirhinus'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros endemic to China during the Miocene through Pliocene. Members of ''Shansirhinus'' were originally classified as species of ''Chilotherium ''Chilotherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros en ...
'' **** †'' Sinorhinus'' **** †'' Subchilotherium'' *** Tribe Teleoceratini **** †'' Aprotodon'' 28.4–5.330 Ma **** †'' Brachydiceratherium'' **** †'' Brachypotherium'' 20.0–5.33 Ma **** †'' Diaceratherium'' 28.4–16.0 Ma **** †''
Prosantorhinus ''Prosantorhinus'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros from the lower and middle Miocene. The small teleoceratine rhinocerotid was found in western Europe and Asia. Description ''Posantorhinus'' was a similarly sized animal to the Sumatran rhino ...
'' 16.9–7.25 Ma **** †''
Shennongtherium ''Shennongtherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros from the Miocene time period. It once roamed in what is now China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous co ...
'' **** †'' Teleoceras'' 16.9–4.9 Ma *** Rhinocerotina
Burdigalian The Burdigalian is, in the geologic timescale, an age (geology), age or stage (stratigraphy), stage in the early Miocene. It spans the time between 20.43 ± 0.05 annum, Ma and 15.97 ± 0.05 Ma (million years ago). Preceded by the Aquitanian (sta ...
–Present **** Tribe Rhinocerotini 40.4–11.1 Ma–Present ***** †''
Gaindatherium ''Gaindatherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Asia during the Miocene. It is mainly known from the Siwalik Hills in Pakistan, though its fossils have been found as far west as the Negev desert. Description ''Gaindatherium'' is ...
'' 11.6–11.1 Ma ***** Subtribe Rhinocerotina 17.5 Ma–Present ****** †'' Nesorhinus'' .70 Ma ****** †'' Rusingaceros'' 17.5 Ma ****** ''
Rhinoceros A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species o ...
'' –
Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...
& Javan rhinoceros **** Tribe
Dicerorhinini A rhinoceros (; ; ), commonly abbreviated to rhino, is a member of any of the five extant taxon, extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family (biology), family Rhinocerotidae. (It can also refer to a member ...
***** †''
Coelodonta ''Coelodonta'' (, from the Greek κοιλία, ''koilía'' and οδούς, ''odoús'', "hollow tooth", in reference to the deep grooves of their molars) is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia between 3.7 million years to 10,000 ...
'' –
Woolly rhinoceros The woolly rhinoceros (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that was common throughout Europe and Asia during the Pleistocene epoch and survived until the end of the last glacial period. The woolly rhinoceros was a me ...
***** ''
Dicerorhinus ''Dicerorhinus'' (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos), "nose" (rhinos)) is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the two-horned Sumatran rhinoceros (''D. sumatrensis''), and several extinct species. The gen ...
'' – Sumatran rhinoceros ***** †''
Dihoplus ''Dihoplus'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in Eurasia from the Late Miocene to Early Pleistocene. They were moderately large rhinoceros, with two horns and large, thick nasal bones. Members of ''Dihoplus'' were long placed in ''Dic ...
'' 11.610–1.810 Ma ***** †''
Lartetotherium ''Lartetotherium'' is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived during the Miocene in Europe. The species ''Lartetotherium sansaniense'' was a unique cursorial rhinoceros with a distinctly long horn. Its teeth were brachyodont The mol ...
'' 15.97–8.7 Ma ***** †'' Stephanorhinus'' 9.7–0.04 Ma –
Merck's rhinoceros ''Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis'', also known as Merck's rhinoceros or the forest rhinoceros, is an extinct species of rhino known from the Middle to Late Pleistocene of Eurasia. One of the last members of the genus ''Stephanorhinus'', it is con ...
&
Narrow-nosed rhinoceros The narrow-nosed rhinoceros (''Stephanorhinus hemitoechus'') is an extinct species of rhinoceros that lived in western Eurasia and North Africa during the Pleistocene. It first appeared in Europe some 600,000 years ago, and survived there until ...
**** Tribe Dicerotini 23.0–Present ***** ''
Ceratotherium ''Ceratotherium'' (Greek: "horn" (keratos), "beast" (therion)) is a genus of the family Rhinocerotidae, consisting of a single extant species, the white rhinoceros The white rhinoceros, white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros (''Ceratotherium ...
'' – White rhinoceros 7.25–Present ***** ''
Diceros ''Diceros'' (Greek: "two" (dio), "horn" (keratos)) is a genus of rhinoceros containing the living black rhinoceros ''(Diceros bicornis)'' and at least one extinct species. Taxonomy ''Diceros'' is generally believed to have branched off from an ...
'' – Black rhinoceros 23.0–Present ***** †''
Paradiceros ''Paradiceros'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros that lived in east Africa during the Late Miocene, between 10.5 and 9 million years ago. ''Paradiceros'' was a relatively small species once believed to be closely allied to ''Diceros''. It was a ...
'' 15.97–11.61 Ma **** Rhinocerotinae ''incertae sedis'' ***** †''
Protaceratherium ''Protaceratherium'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros from the Oligocene and Miocene of Eurasia Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, ...
'' ** Subfamily Elasmotheriinae *** †'' Gulfoceras'' 23.03–20.43 Ma *** †''
Victoriaceros ''Victoriaceros'' is an extinct genus of elasmotheriine rhinoceros known from the Miocene of Maboko Island, Kenya. Discovery ''Victoriaceros'' is known from the holotype, an almost perfectly preserved skull, which characterized mainly by the la ...
'' 15 Ma *** Tribe Diceratheriini **** †''
Diceratherium ''Diceratherium'' (meaning "two horned beast") is an extinct genus of rhinoceros endemic to North America, Europe, and Asia during the Oligocene through Miocene living from 33.9 to 11.6 mya, existing for approximately . Mass estimates for the ...
'' 33.9–11.6 Ma **** †'' Penetrigonias'' **** †''
Subhyracodon ''Subhyracodon'' (Latin: "below" (sub), + Greek: "hyrax" (hyrak = 'shrewmouse'), and "tooth" (odontos, referring to the genus ''Hyracodon'')) is an extinct genus of hornless rhinoceroses. With a length of and a weight estimated of (in ''S. mitis ...
'' 38.0–26.3 Ma **** †''
Trigonias ''Trigonias'' (Greek: "triangular" (trigonos), "ias" enotes possession is an extinct genus of rhinoceros from the late Eocene (Chadronian) some 35 million years ago of North America. ''Trigonias'' was about long and, despite lacking horns, look ...
'' 37-34 Ma *** Tribe Elasmotheriini 20.0–0.1 Ma **** †''
Bugtirhinus ''Bugtirhinus'' was a genus of rhinoceros of the subfamily Elasmotheriinae endemic to Asia during the Miocene living from 20—16.9 mya existing for approximately . Taxonomy ''Bugtirhinus'' was named by Antoine and Welcomme (2000). Its type is ...
'' 20.0–16.9 Ma **** †''
Caementodon ''Caementodon'' is an extinct genus of rhinoceros of the clade Elasmotheriinae endemic to Europe and Asia during the Miocene The Miocene ( ) is the first geological epoch of the Neogene Period and extends from about (Ma). The Miocene was na ...
'' **** †'' Elasmotherium'' –
Giant rhinoceros ''Elasmotherium'' is an extinct genus of large rhinoceros endemic to Eurasia during Late Miocene through the Pleistocene, existing at least as late as 39,000 years ago in the Late Pleistocene. A more recent date of 26,000 BP is consider ...
3.6–0.039 Ma **** †''Hispanotherium'' synonymized with ''Huaqingtherium'' 16.0–7.25 Ma **** †''Iranotherium'' **** †''Kenyatherium'' **** †''Meninatherium'' **** †''
Menoceras ''Menoceras'' ("Crescent Horns") is a genus of extinct, small rhinoceros endemic to most of southern North America and ranged as far south as Panama during the early Miocene epoch. It lived from around 30.7—19.7 Ma, existing for approximately ...
'' 23.03–16.3 Ma **** †''Ningxiatherium'' **** †''Ougandatherium'' 20.0–16.9 Ma **** †''Parelasmotherium'' **** †''Procoelodonta'' **** †''Sinotherium'' 9.0–5.3 Ma


Predators, poaching and hunting

Adult rhinoceros have no real predators in the wild, other than humans. Young rhinos sometimes fall prey to big cats, crocodiles, African wild dogs, and hyenas. Although rhinos are large and aggressive and have a reputation for being resilient, they are very easily poached; they visit water holes daily and can be easily killed while they drink. As of December 2009, poaching increased globally while efforts to protect the rhino are considered increasingly ineffective. The most serious estimate, that only 3% of poachers are successfully countered, is reported of
Zimbabwe Zimbabwe (), officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, is a landlocked country located in Southeast Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa to the south, Botswana to the south-west, Zambia to the north, and Mozam ...
, while
Nepal Nepal (; ne, नेपाल ), formerly the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal ( ne, सङ्घीय लोकतान्त्रिक गणतन्त्र नेपाल ), is a landlocked country in South Asia. It is mai ...
has largely avoided the crisis. Poachers have become more sophisticated. South African officials have called for urgent action against poaching after poachers killed the last female rhino in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve near Johannesburg. Statistics from South African National Parks show that 333 rhinoceros were killed in South Africa in 2010, increasing to 668 by 2012, over 1,004 in 2013, and over 1,338 killed in 2015. In some cases rhinos are drugged and their horns removed, while in other instances more than the horn is taken. The
Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...
n government has supported the practice of rhino trophy hunting as a way to raise money for conservation. Hunting licenses for five Namibian Black rhinos are auctioned annually, with the money going to the government's Game Products Trust Fund. Some conservationists and members of the public oppose or question this practice.


Horn use

Rhinoceros horns develop from subcutaneous tissues, and are made of Keratin, keratinous mineralized compartments. The horns root in a germinative layer. Rhinoceros horns are used in traditional medicines in parts of Asia, and for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. Esmond bradley martin, Esmond Bradley Martin has reported on the trade for dagger handles in Yemen. In Europe, it was historically believed that rhino horns could purify water and could detect poisoned liquids, and likely as an aphrodisiac and an antidote to poison. It is a common misconception that rhinoceros horn in powdered form is used as an aphrodisiac or a cure for cancer in
traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. It has been described as "fraught with pseudoscience", with the majority of its treatments having no logical mechanism of action ...
(TCM) as ''Cornu Rhinoceri Asiatici'' (犀角, ''xījiǎo'', "rhinoceros horn"); no TCM text in history has ever mentioned such prescriptions. In TCM, rhino horn is sometimes prescribed for fevers and convulsions, a treatment not supported by evidence-based medicine: this treatment has been compared to consuming fingernail clippings in water. In 1993, China signed the CITES treaty and removed rhinoceros horn from the Pharmacopoeia of the People's Republic of China, Chinese medicine pharmacopeia, administered by the Ministry of Health. In 2011, the Register of Chinese Herbal Medicine in the United Kingdom issued a formal statement condemning the use of rhinoceros horn. A growing number of TCM educators are also speaking out against the practice, although some TCM practitioners still believe that it is a life-saving medicine. Vietnam reportedly has the biggest number of rhino horn consumers, with their demand driving most of the poaching, which has risen to record levels. The "Vietnam CITES Management Authority" has claimed that Hanoi recently experienced a 77% drop in the usage of rhino horn, but National Geographic has challenged these claims, noticing that there was no rise in the numbers of criminals who were apprehended or prosecuted. South African rhino poaching's main destination market is Vietnam. An average sized horn can bring in as much as a quarter of a million dollars in Vietnam and many rhino range states have stockpiles of rhino horn.


Horn trade

International trade in rhinoceros horn has been declared illegal by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) since 1977. A proposal by Swaziland to lift the international ban was rejected in October 2016. Domestic sale of rhinoceros horn in South Africa, home of 80% of the remaining rhino population, was banned as of 2009. The ban was overturned in a court case in 2017, and South Africa plans to draft regulations for the sale of rhino horn, possibly including export for "non-commercial purposes". The South African government has proposed that a legal trade of rhino horn be established, arguing that this could reduce poaching and prevent the extinction of this species. In March 2013, some researchers suggested that the only way to reduce poaching would be to establish a regulated trade based on humane and renewable harvesting from live rhinos. The World Wildlife Fund opposes legalization of the horn trade, as it may increase demand, while International Fund for Animal Welfare, IFAW released a report by ''EcoLarge'', suggesting that more thorough knowledge of economic factors is required to justify the pro-trade option.


Conservation

According to the World Wide Fund for Nature, conservation of African rhinoceroses as consumers of large amounts of vegetation is crucial to maintaining the shape of the African landscape and the natural resources of local communities.


Ways to prevent poaching


Horn removal

To prevent poaching, in certain areas, rhinos have been tranquillized and their horns removed. Armed park rangers, particularly in South Africa, are also working on the front lines to combat poaching, sometimes killing poachers who are caught in the act. A 2012 spike in rhino killings increased concerns about the future of the species.


Horn poisoning

In 2011, the Rhino Rescue Project began a horn-trade control method consisting of infusing the horns of living rhinos with a mixture of a pink dye and an acaricide (to kill ticks) which is safe for rhinos but toxic to humans. The procedure also includes inserting three RFID identification chips and taking DNA samples. Because of the fibrous nature of rhino horn, the pressurized dye infuses the interior of the horn but does not color the surface or affect rhino behavior. Depending on the quantity of horn a person consumes, experts believe the acaricide would cause nausea, stomach-ache, and diarrhea, and possibly convulsions. It would not be fatal—the primary deterrent is the knowledge that the treatment has been applied, communicated by signs posted at the refuges. The original idea grew out of research into the horn as a reservoir for one-time tick treatments, and experts selected an acaricide they think is safe for the rhino, oxpeckers, vultures, and other animals in the preserve's ecosystem. Proponents claim that the dye cannot be removed from the horns, and remains visible on x-ray scanners even when the horn is ground to a fine powder. The UK charity organization Save the Rhino has criticized horn poisoning on moral and practical grounds. The organization questions the assumptions that the infusion technique works as intended, and that even if the poison were effective, whether middlemen in a lucrative, illegal trade would care much about the effect it would have on buyers. Additionally, rhino horn is increasingly purchased for decorative use, rather than for use in traditional medicine. Save the Rhino questions the feasibility of applying the technique to all African rhinos, since workers would have to reapply the acaricide every 4 years. It was also reported that one out of 150 rhinos treated did not survive the anesthesia.


Artificial substitute for rhinoceros horn

Another way to undercut the rhinoceros horn market has been suggested by Matthew Markus of Pembient, a biotechnology firm. He proposes the synthesis of an artificial substitute for rhinoceros horn. To enable authorities to distinguish the bioengineered horn from real rhinoceros horn, the genetic code of the bioengineered horn could be registered, similar to the DNA of living rhinoceros in the RhODIS (Rhino DNA Index System). Initial responses from many conservationists were negative, but a 2016 report from TRAFFIC—which monitors trade in wildlife and animal parts—conceded that it "...would be rash to rule out the possibility that trade in synthetic rhinoceros horn could play a role in future conservation strategies".


Historical representations

Greek historian and geographer Agatharchides (2nd century BC) mentions the rhinoceros in his book ''On the Erythraean Sea''. Albrecht Dürer created a famous woodcut of a rhinoceros in 1515, based on a written description and brief sketch by an unknown artist of an Indian rhinoceros that had arrived in Lisbon earlier that year. He never saw the animal itself, so ''Dürer's Rhinoceros'' is a somewhat inaccurate depiction. Rhinoceros are depicted in the Chauvet Cave in France, pictures dated to 10,000–30,000 years ago. There are legends about rhinoceroses stamping out fire in
Burma Myanmar, ; UK pronunciations: US pronunciations incl. . Note: Wikipedia's IPA conventions require indicating /r/ even in British English although only some British English speakers pronounce r at the end of syllables. As John Wells explai ...
,
India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
, and Malaysia. The mythical rhinoceros has a special name in Malay language, Malay, ''badak api'', wherein ''badak'' means rhinoceros, and ''api'' means fire. The animal would come when a fire was lit in the forest and stamp it out. There are no recent confirmations of this phenomenon. This legend was depicted in the film ''The Gods Must Be Crazy'' (1980), which shows an African rhinoceros putting out two campfires. In 1974 a LGBT symbols#Lavender rhinoceros, lavender rhinoceros symbol began to be used as a symbol of the gay community in Boston.


See also


Conservation

* Bardiya National Park * Chitwan National Park * International Rhino Foundation *
Kaziranga National Park Kaziranga National Park is a national park in the Golaghat and Nagaon districts of the state of Assam, India. The park, which hosts two-thirds of the world's great one-horned rhinoceroses, is a World Heritage Site. According to the census held i ...
* List of odd-toed ungulates by population * Nicolaas Jan van Strien * Save the Rhino * TRAFFIC


Individual rhinoceroses

* Abada (rhinoceros), Abada * Clara (rhinoceros), Clara * List of fictional pachyderms * Rhinoceros of Versailles


Literature

* ''Rhinoceros (play), Rhinoceros'', 1959 play


Other

* Rhinoceroses in ancient China


References


Further reading


White Rhinoceros, White Rhinoceros Profile, Facts, Information, Photos, Pictures, Sounds, Habitats, Reports, News – National Geographic
* Laufer, Berthold. 1914. "History of the Rhinoceros". In: ''Chinese Clay Figures, Part I: Prolegomena on the History of Defence Armour''. Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, pp. 73–173. * * * Chapman, January (1999). ''The Art of Rhinoceros Horn Carving in China''. Christies Books, London. . * * * *


External links


Rhino Species

Rhino Images
page on th
Rhino Resource Center

Rhinoceros entry
on World Wide Fund for Nature website.
International Anti Poaching Foundation

Free To Use Rhino Images

Rhinoceros Resources & Photos
on African Wildlife Foundation website * UK Times article: "South African spy chief linked to rhino horn trade
South African spy chief linked to rhino horn trade
* Video on South African government minister's alleged involvement in illegal rhino horn trade
VIDEO: Rhino poacher says Mahlobo is his 'mate'

People Not Poaching: The Communities and IWT Learning Platform
{{Authority control Rhinoceroses, Extant Eocene first appearances Herbivorous mammals Taxa named by John Edward Gray Unicorns