Rhino with a large horn

One Horned Rhinoceros

Rhinoceroses are large, herbivorous mammals identified by their characteristic horned snouts. The   word "rhinoceros" comes from the Greek "rhino" (nose) and "ceros" (horn). There are five species and 11 subspecies of rhino; some have two horns, while others have one.

Some amazing facts about Rhino:


  • Rhino horns: Rhino horns are made of keratin, which is also the key component of human hair and      finger nails. But the horns are not just dense clumps of hair.
  • The horns are similar to horse hooves, turtle beaks and cockatoo bills, said Tobin Hieronymus, an OU doctoral student.Rhino horns tend to curve backward,toward the head, because the keratin in front grows faster than the keratin in the back.
  • Though rhinos don't often hang out with each other, they do hang out with birds. The ox pecker will sit on a rhino's back and eat the bugs that crawl on the rhino's skin. That's not the only thing this bird is good for. When danger approaches, the bird will call out, warning the rhino.When rhinos are happy, they make a loud "mm wonk" sound with their mouths.
  • Black rhinos are not actually black, according to the International Rhino Foundation. They probably got thatname from the dark, muddy soil they like to wallow in or to distinguish them from white rhinos.
  • Offspring: Every two and a half to five years, a female rhino will reproduce. Female rhinos carry their young for a gestation period of 15 to 16 months. They usually only have one baby at a time, though they do sometimes have twins. At birth, baby rhinos, which are called calves, are still quite big, at 88 to 140 lbs. (40 to 64 kg),according to the San Diego Zoo.At around 3 years old, the calf will set out on its own. A rhino can live up to 45 years.



  • Diet: Rhinoceroses are herbivores, which means they eat only vegetation. The type of vegetation they eat varies by species. This is because their snouts are different shapes to accommodate different types of food, according to National Geographic. For example, the black rhino eats trees or bushes because its long lips allow it to pick leaves and fruit from up high. The white rhino has a flat-shaped snout that lets it get closer to the ground for eating grass.






 


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