Did You Know Why Rhinos Charge at Trains?
1. There are 5 Species of Rhinos Left in This world
There are 5 species of Rhinoceros left in this world. They are White Rhinoceros, Black Rhinoceros, Indian Rhinoceros, Javan Rhinoceros and Sumatran Rhinoceros.
2. Rhinoceros Means “Horned-Nose” in Different Languages
The word rhinoceros is a Latin transaction from the Ancient Greek: ῥῑνόκερως, which is composed of ῥῑνο- (rhino-, "nose") and κέρας (keras, "horn") with a horn on the nose.
3. Rhino is an herbivorous mammal
Rhinoceros chomps on vegetation, and generally feeds on leafy plants
4. The White Rhino is bigger than your average sedan cars
Being one of the biggest megafaunas, Rhinoceros is the second largest mammal behind the elephant. The biggest species, White Rhinoceros weighs in at an average of 1,600 kilograms (female) and 2,400 kilograms (male), with a height of 1.8 metres to 2 metres tall. They can grow up to 4.6 metres in length, which is longer than an MPV or SUV!
5. Rhinos makes their own insect repellent
Despite being thicked-skinned (up to 2 inches thick), Rhinos have sensitive skin. Hence, they can always be seen frolicking in the mud to get a natural coating on their skin. This protects them from the sun, repels insects and helps them to cool off as well.
6. Rhino charges at Trains, Vehicles due to their poor eyesight
Rhinos are one of the best things to see during safari tours. They are one of the gentle giants in the wild, however they often mistaken vehicles, trains as predators or enemies due to their poor eyesight. They made up for their poor eyesight with strong sense of smell and hearing. Do not approach a Rhino or spook them, especially a mother with a baby calf, as their maternal instincts will kick in to protect the baby!
7. Asian Rhinos are good swimmers
Yes, you heard it right. Rhinos CAN swim, despite being more than a tonne. The Indian, Sumatran and Javan Rhinos are excellent swimmers. They live in terrains where rivers are common in tropical countries, and they adapt well to swim across rivers despite being an Odd-toed ungulates mammal. However, not so much for their African cousins, the White and Black Rhinos, where there were incidents of drowning for those rhinos.
8. Rhinos communicate with each other through puffs, screech, snorts and POOP
Rhinos have heightened sense, hearing infrasonic sounds (higher decibel sound than a human can hear), moving their ears and tails to warn and signal foes and allies, and
9. Rhino horns are made out of the same material as our fingernails
The rhino horns are made out of keratin, which is the same material as human hair and fingernails.
10. Rhinos can run very very fast despite its size
We all know that the fastest man alive is Usain Bolt, who can run up to almost 45km/h. The black Rhino, can charge at 55km/h.
To learn more about these amazing creatures, check out our latest issue of BBC Earth magazine!