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Rhinoceros (nose-horned) are 5 large extant hoofed mammals occupying 4 genera* in the
family Rhinocerotidae. Two of the species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast
Asia. The largest of the species is the white rhinoceros at around 3.7 to 4 metres in length and stands
at the shoulders 170 to 186 cm in height. It weighs around 2,000 to 2,300 kg. The smallest is the Su-
matran rhinoceros, standing at the shoulder
around 120 to 140cm in height and about 2.5
metres in length. They weigh around 500 to
960 kg.

*Extant Genera
Genus Ceratotherium
White rhinoceros
Genus Diceros
Black rhinoceros
Genus Dicerorhinus
Sumatran rhinoceros
Genus Rhinoceros
Indean Rhinoceros
Javan rhinoceros

The African Rhinoceros consists of two distinct species confusingly named
the Black and the White Rhinoceros. Both are in fact grey, with the White rhi-
no being a lighter shade of grey than its dark grey counterpart. The Black
rhino has four subspecies, the South-central, once the most numerous Black
rhino, but now grossly depleted, the South-western, a subspecies well adapted
to the south western semi-arid savannas, the East African of Tanzania, and the
West African, officially declared extinct in 2011. The White rhino has two
subspecies, the Southern White, the most numerous of the Rhinoceros species,
and the Northern White; there are believed to be only two captive animals re-
maining of this subspecies. The white rhino is the larger and more muscular of
the two species, and unlike the black rhino, has a large shoulder hump to sup-
port its larger head. Both species have two keratin based horns, a large pointed
front horn and a short blunt rear one, though the Black rhino may occasionally
have a third horn. Another major difference is the way they eat. The Black rhi-
no has a pointed beak-like mouth, ideal for browsing twigs and bushes, where-
as the White rhino has a flat broad mouth, typical of a grazer and common on
herbivores that graze grass and plants.

There are three Asian species of rhinoceros, the Sumatran Rhino which
has three subspecies, the Sumatran proper, the smallest and hairiest of the
species, the Bornean, with only one captive animal thought to be alive and the,
Northern, presumed extinct on several occasions, but sightings have been re-
ported. The next species, the Indian rhinoceros, has a large single horn and
is the second largest of the Rhino species. Its silver-brown skin has an ar-
moured appearance, with thick folds of skin on its shoulders back and rear,
with its upper legs and shoulders covered in wart-like bumps. It has very little
hair on its body. It once roamed an area covering Pakistan to Myanmar and
parts of China, but today is found in small numbers in isolated pockets around
Asia, with the largest numbers of animals found in India’s, Kaziranga Nation-
al Park. The Javan rhinoceros, the third species is found today only in Ja-
va’s, Ujung Kulon National Park, having been hunted into extinction every-
where else. It’s smaller than the Indian rhino , and has a small single horn,
present only on the males. The females of the species do not have a horn. Alt-
hough smaller it looks similar to the Indian rhino, however, while most rhinos
prefer open grassy areas next to rivers, ponds or lakes, the Javan rhino, prefers
to inhabit dense lowland rain forests, reed beds with abundant rivers, or wet
mud wallows. It’s a rhino that is rarely seen, and its continued existence often
only verified by samples of its feces found in its dense and isolated habitat.