World Rhino Day

Rhinoceroses are large herbivorous mammals, who can be easily identified through its heavy grey skin and prominent horns upon its snout. The word "rhinoceros" comes from the Greek "rhino" (nose) and "ceros" (horn). There are five species and 11 subspecies of rhino; some have two horns, while others have one. White rhinos and black rhinos live in the grasslands and floodplains of eastern and southern Africa. Greater one-horned rhinos can be found in the swamps and rain forests of northern India and southern Nepal. Sumatran and Javan rhinos are found only in small areas of Malaysian and Indonesian swamps and rain forests.

However, these these magnificent beasts are deeply endangered in the wild and are on the verge of extinction. Therefore, to raise awareness regarding the plight of the Rhinos and to protect what remains of these magnificent creatures, every year World Rhino Day is celebrated on 22nd September.

History Behind this Day

Back in 2010, it was quite evident that people were unaware of the plight of these ancient species. The threat of extinction was hovering the species with less than 30,000 Rhinos alive at that time. So, WWF-South Africa announced World Rhino Day in an effort to save the remaining species across the world. This effort grew to be an unprecedented success.

In 2011, Lisa Jane Campbell of Chishakwe Ranch in Zimbabwe was already planning ahead for World Rhino Day. She searched online for ideas and potential collaborators, and found Rhishja’s blog. She sent her an email and both worked together for months to make that year’s Rhino Day a huge success. Since then World Rhino Day became a Global Phenomenon and many NGO’s, Zoos, Organisations and concerned individuals worked towards saving the five species and raised awareness worldwide.

So, it all started with an email and since then people across the globe are working together to save the Rhinos. But still there’s a long way to go as there are only about 100 Sumatran Rhinos left in the world, and between 60-65 Javan rhinos, so while the rhino populations of Africa are doing well there are still more to save.

Interesting Facts

• Rhino horns are made from a protein named Keratin, which is also the same substance our fingernails and hair are made of.
• Rhino’s horn is not bone and is actually made of masses of hairs that are all compacted in together.
• Just like our nails and hair, these hairs too grow throughout a Rhino’s lifetime. The longest horn recorded of a Rhino is 4 feet 9 inches. Also, if a horn falls off another horn grows in its place.
• Rhinoceroses are usually reclusive, but they do form groups occasionally. The group being called a ‘Crash’.
• Horses, Zebra and tapirs are the closest living “relative” to the Rhinos. They all belong to a group of mammals called odd-toed ungulates. Now that’s an interesting fact!!
• Mother rhinos are pregnant for a total duration of 15 – 16 months
• There were once “woolly rhinos” that walked the Earth in prehistoric times, when the average temperature was much lower. It is thought that they died out about 10,000 years ago thanks to a combination of human hunting and dramatic climate change.