The rhino is the world’s second largest land mammal by mass, smaller only than the African elephant, and can be traced back some 50 million years. This docile herbivore grazes peacefully on the African savannah (black and white rhino) and along waterways in the National Parks and Wildlife Sanctuaries of India and Nepal (greater one-horned rhino).
Rhinos rely mostly on their sense of smell and they have rather poor vision but good hearing. They make many sounds, from roars and squeals to gentle bleats. A rhino will charge when threatened, and its poor eyesight means it tends to charge at the last minute – i.e. when it can clearly see the threat.
Male rhinos live solitary lives, but the females live in small groups – usually a female with its latest calf. Rhino calves live with their mothers until they are three years old. Black and greater one-horned rhinos can live up to 40 years in the wild and the larger, white rhinos for 50 years. The word 'white' is derived from the Afrikaans word for wide, and relates to the animal’s wide mouth, not its colour.
This gentle giant has fallen prey to man’s greed and the belief in the East that rhino horn has magical properties (rhino horn is made of the substance as horses’ hooves). The affect on rhino numbers has been catastrophic, though conservation programmes are attempting to address the balance.
