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The Rhino Family

White Rhino

Greater One Horned Rhino

Black Rhino

Javan Rhino

Sumatran Rhino

Current Numbers and Distribution

Current Range Countries:

• India
• Nepal

 

Today, there are more than 3,700 in the wild.

*Maps were created with information from IUCN’s Asian Rhino Specialist Group. For security reasons, specific rhino populations are not identified, approximate current distribution is indicated by the provinces or states in which rhinos reside.

Greater one-horned rhino

(Rhinoceros unicornis)

Thanks to strict protection by government authorities in India and Nepal, the greater one-horned, or Indian, rhino has rebounded from fewer than 100 individuals to more than 3,700 today.

Beginning in 2005, IRF and our Indian Rhino Vision 2020 partners worked together to establish a new rhino population in Assam’s Manas National Park. A total of 21 animals have been born in the park since 2012, and in February 2020, two more rhinos were translocated from Kaziranga NP to Manas, bringing the population to 41 animals and growing.

IUCN Red List Status: Vulnerable & Population Increasing

Facts

Biology

  • The greater one-horned rhino lives in northern India and southern Nepal, in riverine (floodplain) grasslands and adjacent woodland.
  • Greater one-horned rhinos are grazers. When not grazing on land, animals like to immerse themselves in water, where they also graze on aquatic plants.
  • Gestation lasts approximately 15 – 16 months, and mothers give birth to one calf every 2 – 3 years.
  • Greater one-horned rhinos are usually solitary except for females with young. Males maintain loosely-defended territories.

Common Names

Greater one-horned rhinoceros: referring to the single large horn

Indian and/or Nepalese rhinoceros: referring to the species’ range

Scientific Name and Origin

Rhinoceros unicornis from the Greek “rhino”, meaning “nose” and “ceros”, meaning “horn” and “unicornis” from the Latin “uni”, meaning “one” and “cornis”, meaning “horn”

Current Greater One-Horned Rhino Numbers and Distribution

More than 3,700 in the wild.

Physical Characteristics

SIZE
Weight: 4,000-6,000 lbs (1,800 – 2,700 kg)
Height: 5.75 – 6.5 feet (1.75 – 2.0 m) tall at shoulder
Length: 10- 12.5 feet (3.0 – 3.8 m) length of head and body

HORN
Greater one-horned rhinos have a single horn 8 to 24 inches (20 to 61 cm) long.

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