|
|
|
  |
| Sunday, 31 October 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Junior Observer |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
Giant vegetarians
It is generally about two metres broad and five metres long and is the biggest land mammal after the elephant. The white rhino is a vegetarian in the strictest sense of the word. It lives on the grasses which are found in abundance in the most open areas of savannah. The black rhino prefers to remain in the more wooded areas where it can hunt for shrubs and foliage which are its food. It gathers spiky leaves with the finger-like part on the upperlip. The white rhinos do not have the finger-like attachment which the black rhinos have on the upper lip.The rhinoceros generally prefer to live in humid regions which are rich in water and vegetation. Both species do not travel far from the water holes and are largely active by night. The hottest part of the day is spent dozing off in the shade. Once a day the rhinos seek pools of water and bathe in mud. They want to wear 'mud coats' so that they can protect themselves from insect bites and come out unscathed from thorny bushes. Dried mud is good protection for their skins.
The black rhinos get into a rage all of a sudden which is sometimes hard to explain. When they are in a rage they set off in a full gallop in the direction of whatever aroused their anger. So, beware, don't play the fool with a black rhino if ever you come across one in a game park. Female rhinos usually give birth to only one offspring after a pregnancy of seventeen to eighteen months. The baby rhino is about one metre long weighing between twenty-five and seventy kilograms according to the species. The mother rhino takes care of the little one until it is two years old, nursing it and protecting it from lions, always on the alert to kill unprotected young animals. ***** Fact file * There are five species of rhinos - two African and three Asian. The African species are the white and black rhinos. Both species have two horns. Asian rhinos include the Indian and the Javan, each with one horn, and the Sumatran, which has two. * The white rhino is the second largest land mammal next to the elephant. The five species range in weight from 750 pounds to 8,000 pounds and stand anywhere from four and a half to six feet tall. * Biologists estimate that wild rhinos live up to 35 years. In captivity, a rhino may live 40 years. * Rhinos rank among the most endangered species on Earth. Valued for their horns, they face a serious threat from poaching. Some cultures believe that the powdered rhino horn will cure everything from fever to food poisoning . ***** Population - Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis): 2,400 White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum): 7,500 Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis): 400 Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus): fewer than 100 Indian Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis): more than 2,000 |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Politics | Produced by Lake House |
These giants with their awesome horns are fascinating even though they
may not be placed in the top ten list, supposing a beauty pageant was to
be conducted in the animal kingdom.Of the two African species, the black
rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros, the latter is easily identified by
its size, longer neck and rather square mouth.
Would you believe that their horns which are awesome are not real horns
but just a cutaneous (skin) growth, which is not connected to the skull ?
It is like our hair which grows from the skin ! When the rhino habitually
rubs the horn or bangs it against trees and other solid objects, the horn
breaks. But it grows again, sometimes taking a different shape.
