ASIAN RHINOCEROS SPECIES AND THEIR ENDANGERED, FRAGILE STATUS

SPECIES OF RHINOCEROS IN ASIA

Asian rhonoceros

There are five rhinoceros species. 1) the white rhinoceros of Africa; 2) the black rhinoceros of Africa; 3) the Indian rhinoceros; 4) Sumatran rhinoceros of Sumatra, Borneo and Southeast Asia; and 5) the Javanese rhinoceros. The one horned rhinoceros of Asia is the second largest of the five species of rhino. The African white rhino is the largest and the African black rhino is third, followed by the Sumatran rhino and the Javanese rhino.

The folds in the inch-thick hide of the one horned Indian and Sumatran rhinos make them look as if they are plated in armor. Most Asian rhinoceroses are found in India and Nepal with some in Malaysia, Sumatra, Borneo and Vietnam and perhaps in Burma, Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos.

There are far fewer rhinos in Asia: only 3,500, versus 25,000 across Africa. Countries where Asian rhinos are found — Indonesia, Nepal and India — have pledged to take steps to grow their rhino populations by three percent annually.

See Separate Article on the SUMATRAN RHINO.

Rhino News: mongabay.com; savetherhino.org

African Rhinos

White rhinoceroses weigh up to 4,500 pounds and stand six feet at the shoulder (males: 168 centimeters, females: 152 centimeters). They are dived into two subspecies: the northern, which has been virtually wiped out in its home range in Uganda and the Sudan; and the southern, which has made a come back in South Africa. White rhinos are not named after color. "White" is a corruption of "”weit”, Afrikaans for wide, a reference to the animals wide lips. But black rhinos ironically were named after their color to distinguish them from white rhinos.

White rhinos are heavier and more placid than black rhinos . They have broad square muzzle and prefer open country, where they crop grass. Their exposure in open country made them easy to spot and kill. White rhinos are remarkably non-aggressive. It is possible to drive a vehicle within a couple feet of them, or approach them on foot, at an equally close range, and they won't even bat an eyelash. The mainly feed on grass which they pluck a few blades at a time with their broad, squareish upper lip.

The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths - white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage. A subspecific hybrid white rhino was bred at the Zoological Garden Dvur Kralove in the Czech Republic in 1977. Interspecific hybridisation of black and white rhinoceros has also been confirmed. While the black rhinoceros has 84 chromosomes, all other rhinoceros species have 82 chromosomes.

The black rhinoceros weighs 3000 pounds and stands nearly five feet at the shoulder (males: 152 centimeters, females: 137 centimeters) . They are more aggressive than white rhinos and have been known to charge trains that broached their territory. Black rhinos can reach speeds of 35 miles per hour, and turn and change directions incredible fast. The are sometimes hard to see in the wild because the rest in the shade during the daytime and hang it scrubby bush country.

Black rhinos eat mostly shrubs, herbs and fruit, but hardly any grass. They have constantly rotating ears, inch-thick hide and a pointed upper lip and a overlapping lower lip, which allows the animal to grasp twigs and leaves. If there is enough moisture in their food they can go several weeks without water. They enjoy wallowing in the dust and mud. They have the habit of stomping in their own dung to leave odor trails across the savannah, making it easier for other rhinos to find their whereabouts.

Indian Rhinos

The Indian rhinoceros---also called greater one-horned rhinoceros and Asian one-horned rhinoceros---and the Javanese rhinoceros are the only rhinos with one horn. The Indian species has thick, silver-brown skin which creates huge folds all over its body. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and it has very little body hair. Fully grown males are larger than females in the wild, weighing from 2,500 to 3,200 kilograms (5,500 to 7,100 pounds). Female Indian rhinos weigh about 1,900 kilograms. The single horn of the Indian rhino reaches a length of between 20 and 100 centimeters. Males have larger, tusklike incisors for fighting other males during the breeding season.

The Indian rhinoceros is the second largest animal in Asia after the Asian elephant. It stands at 1.75 to 2.0 meters (5.75 to 6.5 feet) at the shoulder and are three to four meters long. The largest one ever recorded weight approximately 3,800 kilograms. Its size is comparable to that of the white rhino in Africa. The Indian rhino is a creature of habit. Every evening it visits regular sites to wallow in the mud. The deeps folds in its skin create a plating effect, making the animal look as if is wearing armor, which is accentuated by tubercles (lumps), especially on the sides and rear. These resemble rivets. The pink skin within the folds is vulnerable to parasites. These are sometimes removed by egrets and tick birds. Indian rhinos have very little body hair aside from eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush.

The Indian rhinoceros is usually found in areas of tall grass, an environment also favored by tigers. The grasses can grow as tall as eight meters high in the wet season and serve as a hiding place and a primary sources of food. These rhinos tend to feed mainly at twilight and at night, curling their upper lip around the stems to bend and bite the tend tips. They are also the most aquatic rhino. They are often seen wading or swimming, in wide rivers. A typical rhino has a territory of two to eight square kilometers, whose size is dependant on the availability of food and the quality of the habitat. Males are tolerant of intruders into their territory outside the breeding season. A single calf is usually born after a 16 month gestation period. It typically stays with the mother until her next offspring is born, which ma be three years later.

Indian Rhino Social Life and Behavior

According to The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros by E. Dinerstein: The Indian rhinoceros forms a variety of social groupings. Adult males are generally solitary, except for mating and fighting. Adult females are largely solitary when they are without calves. Mothers will stay close to their calves for up to four years after their birth, sometimes allowing an older calf to continue to accompany her once a newborn calf arrives. Subadult males and females form consistent groupings as well. Groups of two or three young males will often form on the edge of the home ranges of dominant males, presumably for protection in numbers. Young females are slightly less social than the males. Indian rhinos also form short-term groupings, particularly at forest wallows during the monsoon season and in grasslands during March and April. Groups of up to 10 rhinos may gather in wallows---typically a dominant male with females and calves, but no subadult males. [Source: Wikipedia; Dinerstein, E. The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros (2003, Columbia University Press)]

The Indian rhinoceros makes a wide variety of vocalizations. At least ten distinct vocalizations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak-panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the rhino uses olfactory communication. Adult males urinate backwards, as far as 3 to 4 meters behind them, often in response to being disturbed by observers. Like all rhinos, the Indian rhinoceros often defecates near other large dung piles. The Indian rhino has pedal scent glands which are used to mark their presence at these rhino latrines. Males have been observed walking with their heads to the ground as if sniffing, presumably following the scent of females.

In aggregations, Indian rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouth. Adult males are the primary instigators in fights. Fights between dominant males are the most common cause of rhino mortality and males are also very aggressive toward females during courtship. Males will chase females over long distances and even attack them face-to-face. Unlike African rhinos, the Indian rhino fights with its incisors, rather than its horns.

Endangered Indian Rhinos

rhino sizes

The Indian rhinoceros is now found almost exclusively in Nepal and northeastern India in the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas. It once ranged across the entire Ganges plain, but when large tracts of swamp land and reed jungles was converted to farms their numbers declined sharply. They now exist only in several scattered and fragmented protected areas of India (in Assam, West Bengal, Gujarat and a few pairs in Uttar Pradesh) and Nepal, plus a few pairs in Lal Suhanra National Park in Pakistan. The rhinos that live in these areas are threatened by poaching and loss of habitat.

About 2,000 Great Indian rhinoceros remain in India and Nepal, up from 1,700 in 1984. More than half the Indian rhinos that remain in the wild (1,200 animals) live in Kaziranga National Park in Assam. The park also contains a large numbers of tigers. Indian rhinoceros populations are healthy even though 266 rhinos is India were killed for their horn between 1989 and 1993. Protection in Nepal and India have increased its numbers to where translocation is possible.

Poaching of Indian Rhinos in Assam

In August 2012, Manimugdha S Sharma of TNN wrote: “Poachers killed a full-grown male rhinoceros inside a forest in Jorhat district, Assam. A forest department team found the carcass in the woods hand-reared by 'forest man of India' Jadav Payeng. "I heard gunshots around 10am and immediately alerted the forest department. But nobody came until Thursday morning. It was the only rhino in my forest. I have lost him," Payeng told TOI amid sobs. Divisional forest officer (DFO) Naba Kumar Malakar confirmed the killing and said the team did not find any visible proof of poaching despite combing the forest the whole day. "The poachers sawed off the rhino horn and its nails. We have found holes in the hide, which look like bullet wounds,” Malakar said. [Source: Manimugdha S Sharma, TNN August 4, 2012]

Ranger Pankaj Kalita said the difficulties in reaching the forest — locally known as 'Molai Kathoni' (Molai's Woods) after Payeng's pet name Molai — also hampered the search operation. But not everyone has been convinced by this "explanation". "I had called up the forest office around 12pm on Wednesday when I learnt about the gunshots from Payeng. Why did it take four hours for the message to be relayed to the DFO? If they had acted with alacrity, they could have nabbed the poachers before they left the forest. Poachers were seen earlier in the forest and two of them had been arrested due to Payeng's timely information. Only if they had acted with a sense of urgency," said Jitu Kalita, Payeng's associate.

This year's flood in Assam alone claimed 17 rhinos in Kaziranga National Park, with poachers adding two more to the tally last month. With this latest killing, the rhino death toll in the state has gone up to 20. That's an awful statistic for Assam that is the last home for the Indian rhino in India.

Rhinos in Kaziranga National Park in India

Rhinos in Kaziranga

Kaziranga National Park (60 miles from Jorhat in Assam) in Assam contains more than half to two thirds of all the one-horned Indian rhinoceroses that remain in the wild (1,200 animals). The number of rhinos grew from 366 in 1966 to 1,080 in 1984 to 1,500 in 2000. Few visitors leave the park with having seen a rhino. Kazirnaga is a UNESCO World Heritage Site. Nestled between the Brahmaputra River and the Mikir Hills, with the Himalayas in the distance, Kazirnaga covers 430 square kilometers (260 square miles) and is located on a long, spongy flood plain of the Brahmaputra. It is primarily open country, which gives visitors a good opportunity to see wildlife, and covered with elephant grass, up to ten feet tall, and swampy ground fed by numerous creeks.

Jessica Frei wrote on the Save the Rhinos website: “A large population of greater one-horned rhinos is found in Assam, India, which is a result of years of impactful conservation in the state. Started in the early 90s, conservation in Kaziranga was affirmed as a Proposed Reserve Forest in the year 1905. The journey of Kaziranga started from there and took many positive turns and twists. It was crowned as a Wildlife Sanctuary in the year 1950 and was accredited as a National park in the year 1974. UNESCO confirmed Kaziranga National Park as a World Heritage Site in December 1985. During this journey, Kaziranga faced many challenges, overcame various issues and stood as one of the remarkable wildlife conservations in India. [Source: Jessica Frei, Save the Rhinos, December 2013]

“The rhino census passed out by Kaziranga National Park in March 2013 (done every year), found an increase in the number of one-horned rhinos. According to them, the figure comes out as 2,329, which is an increase from the last year’s figure of 2,290. Apart from Kaziranga National Park, these wild animals are even found in various others wildlife safety areas in Assam. The total number of one-horned rhinos in Assam stands at 2,544 according to state wildlife officials.

Rhinos in Nepal

Nepal's protected forests were estimated by a census in 2011 to be home to more than 500 rhinos, most of them in Chitwan National Park, about 120km (75 miles) south-west of the capital Kathmandu. Nepal faced a serious problem of rhino poaching about 10 years ago when the country was affected by civil war between government forces and Maoist rebels. [Source: BBC, October 7, 2013 ^^]

In 2002, about 37 rhinos were killed by poachers, triggering grave concern over the future of one-horned rhinos. Their population dropped from an estimated 612 in 2000 to less than 375 in 2005. But numbers have increased to more than 500 after a series of anti-poaching measures were taken by the authorities. ^^

Rhinos are pictured on the back of very Nepalese 100 rupee note. Medicines made from rhino urine are used on ear infections , asthma, and tuberculosis. Rhino dung is smoked in a pipe to cure fever. "Nepali villagers," Eric Dinerstein wrote in Smithsonian magazine "seem uninterested in the horn but will pay good money for high-test urine." [Source: Heimanta Raj Mishra and Smithsonian, September 1987]

The rhino population of Nepal has increased from 95 in 1960s, to 260 in 1975 to 360 in 1986 to 600 in the early 2000s, about a fifth of the world's total. Most lives in Chitawan and Bardiya National Parks. Each year a land rovers and jeeps are charged by belligerent rhinos in Chitawan National Park and a couple of people get trampled or gored.

Rhinos in Royal Chitawan National Nepal

Royal Chitawan National Park (a short flight or a long bus ride from Kathmandu) is one of the best places in the world to see Asian one horned rhinoceros and Bengal tiger. There are over 300 rhinoceros and one of the largest populations of tigers in Asia. The treks through park's marshes and tall grass, where most animals are spotted, are usually done on the backs of elephants. Situated in the lowlands of the Inner Terai of Nepal, Chitawan (also known as Chitwan at Chitaun) is Nepal's first and most famous national park. Covering an area of about 500 square miles and formerly a royal hunting ground, the park consists of floodplains, low hills and forests of kapok, acacia and sisam trees.

Because of the fertile soil and high water table, the grasses in Chitawan National Park grows ups to 25 feet high. In January, the grasses are often cut and burned off.A few weeks later the landscape is covered by tender shoots that feed large herds of chital and hog deer as well as rhinos. A month after the fires the grass is knee high, providing enough cover for tigers to stalk their prey. By April the grasses reach an elephant's eye.

The control of poaching and cattle grazing inside Chitawan by the Nepalese Army has been one of the main reasons for the animal's return. Soldiers are given orders to shoot poachers on sight Poachers that are caught are sentenced to 15 years in prison and fined 100,000 rupees (around $1,500). Even so rhinos continue to be poached Rhinos in Nepal are also accidently electrocuted and poisoned. Some are swept away by monsoon rains and drown while they wallow in the mud.

The program to save rhinos has been so successful there is now an overpopulation of rhinos in Chitawan National Park are rhinos are being relocated . A new rhino population was established Bardiya to prevent against inbreeding and susceptibility to an epidemic.

Javan Rhinoceros: the World's Rarest Rhino

The Javan rhinoceros is slightly smaller than the Indian rhino and a little bit larger than the Sumatran rhino. Like the closely related Indian rhinoceros, the Javan rhinoceros has a single horn. Its distinguishing features are its 26-centimeters horn and a prominent fold in the hide of its front shoulder. More than almost any other creature living today it resembles the prehistoric mammals which dominated the earth millions of years ago. [Source: Diter and Mary Plage, National Geographic, June 1985]

The Javan rhino may be the rarest large mammal on Earth. There are thought to be only around 50 of the animals left in existence, all living in the wild in Ujung Kulon National Park. There are none in captivity. Reporting from Ujung Kulon, Arlina Arshad of AFP wrote: “The shy creature, whose folds of loose skin give it the appearance of wearing armour plating, once numbered in the thousands and roamed across Southeast Asia. Officials in Ujung Kulon believe there were 51 of the rhinos in 2012, including eight calves, basing their estimate on images captured by hidden cameras. They hope the true figure may be in the 70s and will have a new estimate once data for 2013 has been collated. [Source: Arlina Arshad, AFP, December 23, 2013]

The Javan rhinoceros’s hairless, hazy gray skin falls into folds into the shoulder, back, and rump giving it an armored-like appearance. The Javan rhino's body length reaches up 3.2 meters (10 feet), including its head and stands 1.5 to 1.7 meters (4 feet, 10 inches to 5 feet 7 inches) at the shoulder. Adults are variously reported to weigh between 900 to 1,400 kilograms or 1,360 to 2,000 kilograms. Only males have true horns. Females have knobs or nothing that is visible.

Javan rhinoceros are relatively hairless except for their ears. The thick gray skin is divided into deep folds, making a saddle over the neck, with lumps or nodules, giving an armor-plated effect. The horn is relatively short.

Of all the rhino species, the least is known of the Javan Rhino. These animals prefer dense lowland rain forest, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with large floodplains and mud wallows. Javanese rhinos are very shy. They will flee their normal browsing grounds if they sense humans or animals such as oxen or deer coming near. Females give birth and raise their calves near the coast. The gestation period is 16 months. One calf is born and it is thought to saty with the mother for around two years. Sections of males home ranges usually extend to the coast. They are thought to be territorial, marking their territory with piles of dung and urine pools.

Largely nocturnal, Javan rhinos it eats a variety of plant but seem to prefer the shoots of young trees. If they can't reach the shoots on small trees they will often knock the tree down to get at them. The presence of rhino tracks on the beach led some scientists to speculate that the rhinos also eat salt-water mangroves.

Sumatran Rhinoceros

Javan rhino range

The Sumatran rhinoceros in the smallest and hairiest of the five rhino species. It is believed to be possibly related to the extinct woolly rhinoceros, having been around for around for 20 million years. A mature Sumatran rhino typically stands about 100 to 150 centimeters (50 to 75 inches) at the shoulder, with a body length of 240 to 315 centimeters (94 to 124 inches) and weighs around 600 to 950 kilograms (1,320 to 2,095 pounds). Like the African species, it has two horns; the larger is the front (25 to 79 centimeters), with the smaller usually less than 10 centimeters long. The males have much larger horns than the females.

Hair can range from dense (the densest hair in young calves) to scarce. The color of these rhinos is reddish brown. They have relatively few skin wrinkles except around the neck. Their body is short and has stubby legs. They also have a prehensile lip. Under ceratin conditions it will grow a thick coat of hair like that of the long-extinct woolly rhino.

Little is known about the Sumatran rhino. It is rarely seen in the wild and likes dense forests. One scientist who spent three years studying them in northern Sumatra’s Gunung Leuser National Park — one of the areas they are said to be most plentiful — only saw one once when it charged through his camp unexpectedly. Most of what is known about them has been deduced from specimens kept in captivity.

The Sumatran rhinoceros lives in both lowland and highland tropical rain forests in peninsular Malaysia, coastal areas of Sumatra, particularly in the west and south, and dense forest in very high altitudes in Sabah, Malaysia in northeast Borneo. Roaming across a grazing territory of about 16 square kilometers, it spends much of its day in wallows and browses on twigs, leaves, fruits, saplings and tender fruit. The animal is used to the shade. Captive animals exposed to long periods in the sun developed eye problems. They are pretty picky about what they eat. They prefer fresh Ficus browse. If they don’t get that they often won’t eat.

The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) is found in small, fragmented populations on the islands of Sumatra (Indonesia) and Borneo (Malaysia), as well as a recently identified individual or group in Indonesian Borneo. Many of these found in Sumatra live near Mount Leuser, Way Kambas and Bukit Barisan Selatan.

Image Sources: Wikimedia Commons

Text Sources: National Geographic, Natural History magazine, Smithsonian magazine, Wikipedia, New York Times, Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Times of London, The Guardian, Top Secret Animal Attack Files website, The New Yorker, Time, Newsweek, Reuters, AP, AFP, The Economist, BBC, and various books and other publications.

Last updated May 2014