Indian Rhinoceros

Presented byOsar GaoBatch(2008-09)

Kinds of Rhinos in the world

There are five kinds of Rhinos found in the world » Indian Rhino» White Rhino» Black Rhino» Javan Rhino» Sumatran Rhino

• Order: Perissodactyla • Family: Rhinocerotidae • Common name:Great Indian Rhinoceros, Gainda

Scientific name: Rhinoceros unicornis • Rhinoceros: from the Greek • “rhino”, meaning "nose" • “ceros”, meaning "horn" and • “unicornis” from the Latin “uni”, meaning "one" and• “cornis”, meaning "horn"

Distribution: Bhutan, India(Assam, West Bengal), Nepal

STATUS

• Classified as Endangered on the 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species, and listed on Appendix I of CITES.

• Now the status has been upgraded to vulnerable.

PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS

• Size: Head and body length:

Male: 368-380 cm Female: 310-340 cm

Shoulder height

Male: 170-186 cm Female: 148-73 cm

Tail length: 70-80 cm

Horn length: 529 mm (max.)

• Weight: Male: 2,200 kg Female: 1,600 kg

• This species is the largest of the Asian rhinos.

• It is brownish-grey in colour and hairless.

• Can be differentiated from the closely related Javan rhinoceros by the fact that its

deeply folded skin is covered in large, raised bumps. This gives the animal the

appearance of being covered in plates of armour with rivets.

• The rhino has a single large horn and a semi-prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp

food.

ECOLOGY

• Lives in northern India and southern Nepal.

• Mainly inhabits riverine (flood plain) grasslands and

occasionally utilizes some adjacent woodland.

• Are grazers

• When not grazing on land, animals like to immerse

themselves in water, where they also graze on aquatic grass-

like plants. 

BREEDING • The female Indian rhinoceros comes into heat (is

ready to mate) for 24 hours every 5-8 weeks.• She attracts the male by spraying urine and by

making a gentle whistling sound. • The solitary female seeks dense cover when she

is ready to give birth.• The calf stays with its mother until the birth of

her next offspring, between 18 months and two years later.

• Gestation lasts approximately 15-16 months, and mothers give birth to one calf every 1-3 years.

• Females reach sexual maturity between 5 and 7 years of age; males mature at approximately 10 years of age.

• Greater one-horned rhinos are usually solitary except for females with young. Males maintain loosely-defended territories.

BREEDING

THREATS

• The main reason for the species' decline is the loss of habitat due to agricultural development.

• This has also made rhinos more accessible to poachers, who illegally hunt them for their horns and other body parts that are used in traditional Asian medicine.

• While most animals are now protected in sanctuaries, poaching is still a major threat.

Rhinos are also forced to compete for resources with local villagers and their livestock.

CONSERVATION UNDERWAY

• The Indian and Nepalese governments are working with international conservation organisations to enforce laws protecting the species.

• The situation is encouraging, with rhino numbers recovering from fewer than 200 at the start of the twentieth century to around 2,400 today.

• However, poaching remains a threat, as does habitat loss and degradation.

• Current conservation initiatives include regular patrols of protected areas by anti-poaching teams, and the translocation of animals from successful populations into protected areas within the former range.

CONSERVATION PROPOSED • Maintaining the wild population is critical. Numbers

need to be closely monitored and it is important to continue to protect against poaching.

• Translocation of animals from successful populations to areas of suitable habitat should continue, to create as many viable populations as possible.

• Where possible, habitat should be improved and extended, with corridors established to link protected areas. Education programmes are also essential, to teach local communities how to co-exist with the rhinos and use the land sustainably.

• In addition, education in consumer countries should continue along with research to find an alternative to rhino horn in traditional Asian medicine, so that incentives to poach are reduced.

Radio-collaring a rhino calf before its relocation to Manas NP

wooden crate enclosure.

Rhino translocation to Manas NP in a truck Release of a rhino calf into the boma in Manas NP.

MAN & RHINO CONFLICT

• Conflict between man and the Indian rhinoceros arises from the damage rhinos do to crops and the damage man does to the rhino's food supply-elephant grass.

• In Nepal, villagers who use elephant grass for the walls and the roofs of their houses, are now allowed to collect grass in national parks at certain times of the year. This arrangement encourages new growth of grass, which in turn benefits the rhinos.

DID YOU KNOW?

• Indian Rhinoceroses are vulnerable to sunburn. By wallowing in mud, they protect their skin from the sun.

• The first weeks after giving birth, mother rhinos produce 5 - 7 gallons of milk daily.

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