Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) - Rhino of the Asian riverscapes

The Indian rhinoceros, also called One-horned rhinoceros, is one of the largest mammals living on solid ground. Just Elephants and the African White rhinoceros are even larger. Males reach lengths of about 3,5 m and weights of 2200 kg. Females are not much smaller but less massiv and "just" weigh about 1700 kg. All Rhinoceros species have relatively small eyes but large ears, which can be orientated to different directions. But their most conspicuous markings are their large horns. They are completely different from other structures like antlers of Deer and horns of Cows, Antelopes and other Bovids. While most of the other Rhinoceros species wear two horns, the Indian Rhinoceros wears a single one. Besides the canine teeth of the lower jaw it is used during intraspecific clashes. The skin of the Indian rhinoceros is divided into several areas by wrinkles. These areas appear like parts of an armour plating.

Rhinos are Odd-toed ungulates. This group of animals is quite small and includes just Horses and Tapirs besides Rhinos. In Africa two Rhino species are known, the White rhinoceros and the Black rhinoceros. Three species inhabit Asia: Besides the Indian rhinoceros two island species are known - the Javan rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros. While the African rhinos are inhabitants of more or less arid steppes and savannahs, the Asian rhinos prefer more damp biotopes: The Javan rhinoceros and the Sumatran rhinoceros inhabit rainforests, whereas the Indian rhinoceros can be found in the riverscapes of the large rivers Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra. In former times Indian rhinos could have been found throughout these areas, today their distribution is restricted to national parks and sanctuaries in North-East India and Nepal. The increase in population in India and the need for areas, which could be used for agricultural purposes, pushed back the large Rhinos more and more. Nevertheless there are about 2000 Indian rhinos living inside the sanctuaries, a lot more than 100 years ago. In the beginning of the 20th century there were just a little more than 100 Indian rhinos left, due to trophy hunting and the superstition, that parts of the Rhino, especially the horn, had healing and magical abilities. Another large and prominent animal, the Tiger, is a victim of that superstition too. In the year 1910 the hunt for the Indian rhinoceros has been prohibited, but nevertheless many Rhinos are still killed by poachers. The Indian rhinoceros, like all other Rhino species, is still among the most endangered mammals.

Indian rhinos are vegetarians, eating all kinds of grass, especially high and reed-like forms. In addition they take herbs, twigs and aquatic plants. In order to reach aquatic plants, Indian rhinos sometimes dive completely under water. They like standing in the water anyway and spend a lot of time resting in deep muddy pools. In the pools they are almost completely covered with mud and just the horn and the ears can be seen. The Rhinos profit from resting in muddy pools by avoiding parasites and relieving their joints from their heavy weight. They urinate into the muddy pools, which gives a characteristic odour to the animals. Everywhere Indian rhinos walk, they leave their odour, signalizing their presence to other Rhinos. Although Indian rhinos don't form firm social groups, they often meet each other at attractive places, which hold resources like muddy pools and food. On such occasions the need for a complex form of intraspecific communication is unavoidable. Besides communicating by smells Rhinos use a lot of visual and acoustic signals to show their intentions. Even breathing according to a certain rhythm might be of communicative relevance. Conflicts cannot always be settled this way. Mainly among large males there are heavy fights sometimes, which might end with the death of the weaker Rhino.

Even during courtship aggressive behaviour plays a dominant role. The female's most common first reactions to the male's overtures are feint attacks. Although this behaviour is of playful nature and part of a ritual, injuries are quite common during courtship. The courtship behaviours will last for several hours until the Rhinos are ready to mate. The mating itself is of very long duration too and may take more than one hour. Afterwards the male and the female split up, but in some cases the male might stay in the female's surrounding area for several days, preventing the presence of other male Rhinos. Pregnancy is very long and lasts for about 16 months. Accordingly the young is very well-developed; it weighs about 70 kg when born. Besides its mother's milk it will soon eat grass and other plants. Rhino young adopt a lot of behaviours and habits from their mothers, but explore their surroundings very actively as well and react quite individually towards them. When growing up they develop a lot of individual behaviours and shift or expand the behaviour patterns they adopted from their mothers. When about 18 months old the young Indian rhino is weaned, but still stays with its mother for quite a while. indian rhinos give birth every three years. This low reproduction rate is accompanied by a high life expectancy; Indian rhinos may reach a maximum age of about 40 years.

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