A Rhinoceros is one of the endangered species. These are amazing animals who live up to 45 years and both the male and the female have horns.
There are five different species of these animals still found today. Through the years scientists have identified what was at least 100 species of these animals. They get to be of different sizes when they reach adulthood. They are actually some of the biggest animals in the world. They can grow to heights just shy of 6’ and they weigh more than about 30 men.
How Much Does a Rhino Weigh?
Rhino’s often reached a weight of more than a ton.
- The White Rhino weighs about 1800 to 2700 kg or 4000 to 6000 pounds when they are mature.
- The Indian Greater one-horned rhino or Indian rhino weighs between 1800 and 1400 kg or 4000 to 7936 pounds when they are mature.
- The Wooly Rhino is about the same size as the White Rhino. 1800 to 2700 kg or 4000 to 6000 pounds when they are mature.
- The black rhino weighs about 800 to 1400 kg or between 1763 and 3086 pounds.
How Much Does A Rhino Weigh at Birth?
The mother rhino carries her baby for 15 to 16 months before giving birth.
When the rhino is born it enters the world as a large baby. The smallest newborn rhinoceros will weigh about 30 kg or 66 pounds. These infants can also weigh more than 140 pounds or 65 kg at birth.
Diet
You have been told to watch your carbohydrate and fat intake so you can stay slim and control your weight. The truth is these huge animals feed on main vegetation and they top the scales at as much as three tons.
The rhino is a megaherbivore. A megaherbivore is an animal that eats mostly plant-based materials and weighs greater than 2,000 pounds.
The Asian Rhinos
There are three Asian rhinos. The largest of those three species is the greater one-horned variety. These creatures have a single horn and their skin folds in such a way that they appear to be wearing a suit of armor.
They eat grasses, fruit, and aquatic plants. The female of this species becomes sexually mature at five to seven years of age, but the male will not reach breeding age until he is about ten.
After the mom gives birth she will spend one to three ears tending to that calf before she breeds again. This long span between breeding cycles is one of the reasons why the rhinos are starting to be extinct.
The main threat to these animals comes from men. Poaching is the single greatest threat they face. The animals are killed for their horn. The horn is then sold to make things like some traditional Asian medicines.
Other threats to this animal come from habitat loss. Man is growing in numbers and as we do we spread out and take over more land. This leaves fewer places for animals to live in their natural habitats.
Did You Know?
- Mud protects the skin of the animal from sunburns.
- These are mostly solitary animals who prefer to be alone. Even after a rhino couple mates, they part ways, and the majority of young rhinos never see or meet their fathers.
- A group of rhinos is called a crash.
- There are only about 29,000 of these creatures left in the wild.
- They have no natural predators.
- There are black and white rhinos but that is just a name because all of the rhinos are actually a grey color.
- The closest living relatives of the rhino include the zebra, horse, and tapir.
- They are perissodactyls. That means they have an odd number of toes.
- Adult rhinos poop as much as 50 pounds of feces each day.
- The world’s most famous rhino was a female named Clara. She toured Europe in the 1700s. Her mother was killed in Assam by hunters and she was adopted by Jay Sichterman and raised as a pet.
- Lions in Africa and Tigers in Asia will sometimes try to hunt young rhinos.
FAQs
Which rhino is called the square-lipped rhino?
The white rhino is often referred to as the square-lipped rhino.
Do all rhinos have two horns?
No. The Indian or the Greater one-horned rhino has a single horn.
What is the tiniest rhino?
The Sumatran rhino is the smallest breed of rhino.