NAME AND SPECIES
The word rhinoceros comes from two Greek words meaning nose-horn.
The original word rhinoceros dates back to 1398, however, we have been calling it a rhino only since 1870.
The white rhino is not white. Its name comes from the Afrikaans "wyd" meaning "wide," a reference to its wide, square muzzle adapted for grazing.
The plural is either rhinoceroses or (far rarer) rhinocerotes. It is not rhinoceri which is quite wrong.
A group of rhinos is called a crash.
There are five species of rhino: the black rhino, white rhino, Sumatran rhino, Javan rhino and greater one-horned rhino.
RHINOCEROSES IN HISTORY
The woolly rhino roamed Europe from prehistoric times until it became extinct 10,000 years ago.
When Marco Polo reached Indonesia he saw a rhinoceros, thought it was a unicorn, and was really disappointed about how ugly it was.
A rhinoceros arrived in Lisbon in late 1515, which was the first living example seen in Europe since Roman times. The King of Portugal, Manuel I, sent the animal as a gift for Pope Leo X, but it died in a shipwreck off the coast of Italy in early 1516.
 |
| Dürer's Rhinoceros, in a woodcut from 1515 |
A live rhinoceros was not seen again in Europe until a second specimen arrived from India at the court of Philip II in Spain in around 1579.
Macbeth is the only play by Shakespeare that mentions a rhinoceros. ("What man dare, I dare. Approach thou like the rugged Russian bear, the armed rhinoceros, or th' Hyrcan tiger.")
Clara the rhinoceros was a female Indian rhinoceros who arrived in Rotterdam in the Dutch Republic in 1741, becoming the fifth living rhinoceros to be seen in Europe in modern times. After tours through towns in the Dutch Republic, she visited Dresden, Rome, Basel, Naples, Venice, Prague, and Paris, before dying in Lambeth, England on April 14, 1758.
 |
| Portrait of Clara in Paris in 1749, by Jean-Baptiste Oudry. |
The first rhinoceros to be exhibited in the U.S. was shown at Peale's Museum in New York City on September 13, 1826. The rhinoceros was an immediate sensation, and attracted large crowds of people who came to see the strange and exotic creature. It remained on display at Peale's Museum for several months, and then went on to tour other cities in the United States.
In 1958, a female rhino called Cacareco received 100,000 votes in the São Paulo city council elections, as a form of protest vote. Officials did not accept her candidacy. "Voto Cacareco" is commonly used to describe protest votes in Brazil.
The formidable-looking black rhinoceros, weighing over a ton, is considered the most easily tameable animal in Africa. Once penned, he becomes so gentle he will eat out of his keeper's hand, and will come on call to have his ears rubbed.
Rhinos sometimes communicate by leaving each other piles of poop.
A white rhino can produce 50lb of dung per day.
Oxpeckers eat the ticks off a rhino's hide and also warn of danger.
Rhinos can grow to over 6 feet tall, more than 11 feet in length and weigh up to 6000 lbs.
Rhinos are actually neither black nor white in color, they are all grey.
Rhinos have three toes on each foot.
A charging rhino can reach speeds of 35 mph, and this is while running on their toes!
Indian and Javan rhinoceroses have one horn, the other three species have two.
Rhino horns, unlike those of other horned mammals, have no bone in their core but are formed entirely of keratin, like hair and fingernails. The composite is similar to a horse's hoof.
The skimmest milk in the world comes from the black rhinoceros, with a fat content of about 0.2%.
The phrase “rhinoceros nose” was used in the 16th and 17th centuries to mean turning up the nose as a sign of sneering contempt.
Man is the rhino's only natural predator.
The Southern White Rhino population dwindled to around 50 animals in the late 19th century but is now over 11,000.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the Western Black Rhinoceros extinct in 2011.
The death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros was announced on March 20, 2018. He was 45 years old and had lived at a conservation in Kenya for the last nine years of his life, Sudan was survived by his daughter and granddaughter.
Conservationists in South Africa have been injecting rhino horns with red dyes and toxins to prevent poaching. The mixture renders the horn completely useless to those trying to sell it commercially and is also toxic for human consumption.
Sources Isaac Asimov's Book Of Facts, Daily Express
In 1958, a female rhino called Cacareco received 100,000 votes in the São Paulo city council elections, as a form of protest vote. Officials did not accept her candidacy. "Voto Cacareco" is commonly used to describe protest votes in Brazil.
BEHAVIOR
The formidable-looking black rhinoceros, weighing over a ton, is considered the most easily tameable animal in Africa. Once penned, he becomes so gentle he will eat out of his keeper's hand, and will come on call to have his ears rubbed.
Rhinos sometimes communicate by leaving each other piles of poop.
A white rhino can produce 50lb of dung per day.
Oxpeckers eat the ticks off a rhino's hide and also warn of danger.
ANATOMY
Rhinos can grow to over 6 feet tall, more than 11 feet in length and weigh up to 6000 lbs.
Rhinos have three toes on each foot.
A charging rhino can reach speeds of 35 mph, and this is while running on their toes!
Indian and Javan rhinoceroses have one horn, the other three species have two.
Rhino horns, unlike those of other horned mammals, have no bone in their core but are formed entirely of keratin, like hair and fingernails. The composite is similar to a horse's hoof.
The skimmest milk in the world comes from the black rhinoceros, with a fat content of about 0.2%.
The phrase “rhinoceros nose” was used in the 16th and 17th centuries to mean turning up the nose as a sign of sneering contempt.
CONSERVATION
Man is the rhino's only natural predator.
 |
| Memorial to rhinos killed by poachers near St Lucia Estuary, South Africa |
The Southern White Rhino population dwindled to around 50 animals in the late 19th century but is now over 11,000.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature declared the Western Black Rhinoceros extinct in 2011.
The death of Sudan, the world’s last male northern white rhinoceros was announced on March 20, 2018. He was 45 years old and had lived at a conservation in Kenya for the last nine years of his life, Sudan was survived by his daughter and granddaughter.
Conservationists in South Africa have been injecting rhino horns with red dyes and toxins to prevent poaching. The mixture renders the horn completely useless to those trying to sell it commercially and is also toxic for human consumption.
Sources Isaac Asimov's Book Of Facts, Daily Express
No comments:
Post a Comment