The Rhiny Awards: Can You Guess the Winners?
Welcome to the First Annual Rhiny Awards! With award season in full-swing we thought there are a few species that also deserve recognition for their outstanding performances this year.
Spoiler alert: all five species of rhino are winners to us BUT, can you guess which species wins which award? Check out the nominees and categories below and see if you can match the right rhino to the right award.
Although there are no acceptance speeches at the Rhiny’s, on behalf of all the nominees we’d like to thank all of you for support! You like us, you really like us!
The Nominees
The Categories
Best Lips
They’re not for kissing! With no front incisor teeth, a rhino’s lips are used to grab whatever food it’s trying to eat. Most of the five rhino species have pointed lips that help them pull leaves off of branches, but this “lawnmower” stands out from the rest with their lips that are perfect for grazing on short grasses.
Best Wallower
This species can be hard to find in the dense jungle but a fresh wallow is a great sign for Rhino Protection Units (RPUs) to tell that these rhinos are around. Rhinos wallow in mud to keep cool and keep bugs off of them so will usually return time after time to a good wallow. Camera traps are often placed around wallows to help the RPUs keep track of the rhinos that use them.
Best Comeback
This species has had a 1700% population increase in the last 100 years due to increased protection from the governments of the two countries where they are still found. These “unicorns” are unfortunately still poached for their horn, but strong intelligence networks keep poaching numbers for this species relatively low.
Best Vocal Performance
All rhino species vocalize as babies, but this tiny performer sings it’s whale-like squeaks all throughout its life. There’s still a lot to learn about this species and what their songs mean but perhaps they sing to find other rhinos, since it’s so difficult to see in their densely forested habitat.
Lifetime Achievement Award
The International Rhino Foundation was formed almost 30 years ago with this specific species in mind- it was even in our original name! This rhino species was almost wiped out completely due to poaching, as it lost 96% of its original population. Since then, we have been a part of the tireless conservation efforts to protect this species and its habitat. Although it is still critically endangered, its population is rebounding and has more than doubled in the last 25 years! Of course, we now protect all five rhino species, but to the rhino that inspired it all: this award is for you!
So which rhino gets which award? Answers are below!
How many did you get? If you need to brush up on your rhino facts you can always find out more about them at rhinos.org. And if you’re looking to “award” any rhinos yourself, you can make a tax-deductible donation with us here anytime. Over 90% of every contribution goes directly to IRF’s field programs.