Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros or Asian One-horned Rhinoceros or Greater One-horned Rhinoceros with the scientific

name Rhinoceros unicornis is the fourth or fifth largest of all the land animals.

Rhinoceros falls under the Rhinocerotidae family and order Perissodactyla. It is primarily spotted in the North-eastern India and the largest species among three other Rhino species which is widely spread around Asia.

Physical Structure

The skin of Indian Rhinoceros has a thick coat with the folds looking like plates of armor colored with silver brown or grayish and less body hair. The flexible skin between the armor helps to move from one place to another. They are distinct with other Rhino species by the single horn comprised of compressed keratin which is basically present in hair and fingernail. The shoulders and the upper part of the legs have wart-like bumps. They are characterized with wart-like bumps in the shoulder; neck and upper part of the legs which differentiate them from the Javan Rhino. The semi-prehensile lip helps Indian Rhino to feed on a wide variety of food like grasses, leaves, branches, aquatic plants and fruits.

Male Rhinos are larger than females. The Rhinoceros weighs about 1,800-3,000 kilogram (4,000-6,600 pounds) with the height ranging from 1.70 meter (5.70 feet) to 2 meter (6.5 feet). The girth or length of the body and head ranges from 3 meter to 3.8 meter (10feet to 12.5 feet). The horn is 8 to 24 inches (0.20 to 0.60 meter) in length. They are strong swimmers with the speed of 55km/hr and spend most of their time in water or mud holes to combat the heat during the hottest season. They possess a good hearing and smelling sense but have a poor vision. It has strong incisor teeth and two long canine teeth in its lower jaw.

Distribution and Habitat

Indian rhinos are spotted primarily in parts of north-eastern parts of the Indian subcontinent, in protected areas in the Terai at the foot of Himalayas, through the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain. The majority of around 2,000 to 3,000 rhinos are found in Assam, an Indian state.

Their habitats may include alluvial lands, flooded or riverine grasslands, swamp (marshy areas), tropical grasslands, tropical bush lands and reed beds.

Today, they are constrained to human surrounded habitats like near cultivated areas, pastures and secondary forests.

Places Found

The largest mammal can be found in the following national parks:

Kaziranga National park: This park is located near Furkating, state of Assam, India. This park has a very rich bio diversity which attracts the touristers and is a heart rending place. The most famous animals in this park are the One-horned Rhinoceros, Indian Elephants, Tigers,Indian Bison, etc

Manas National Park or Manas Wildlife Sanctuary: This is a wildlife sanctuary, UNESCO Natural World Heritage site, a Project Tiger Reserve. Located in the Himalayan foothills, it is conterminous with the Royal Manas National park in Bhutan. Manas Tiger reserve was created in 1973; total area of the sanctuary is 360 kms. The name of the park originated from the Manas River, which is named after the snake goddess Manasa.

Dudhwa National Park :

It is located in the Terai or marshy lowlands of Uttar Pradesh in India with an area of 811 sq. Kilometers of marshes, grasslands and dense forest. The fauna here includes around 38 species of mammals like One-horned rhinoceros, Swamp deer, Hog deer, Tiger, leopard, sambar, wild boar, etc.

Jaldapara Wildlife Sanctuary: It is a protected park located at the foothills of Eastern Himalayas in Jalpaiguri District in West Bengal and on the banks of the river Torsa which has an area of 141 km. It is a vast grassland with riverine forests. The main attraction of the park is the Asiatic one-horned rhinoceros after Kaziranga National Park. The other fauna are Tigers, deers, elephant, sambhar, barking deer, etc. The other national parks where rhinos could be spotted are Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Katerniaghat Sanctuary, Orang Sanctuary and Gorumara Sanctuary

Food Habits

Indian Rhinos are herbivores and feed mainly on vegetarian foods. Their food may vary depending on their habitat. They prefer to eat grass when they are in grasslands, flood plain areas and swamps. Occasionally they eat fruits, leaves and branches when they live in dense forest area. They feed on farm crops when populated in the cultivated areas. When they are in water they dive and consume aquatic plants. Their prehensile lips help them to grasp and pull out the grass and aquatic plants by the roots. They also help to feed on leaves, branches, aquatic plants and fruits.