Endangered Rhinos

Rhinos are herbivores. In a day a rhino can eat up to 120 pounds of grass. An adult rhino can weigh up to 3 tons, but a rhino is not dangerous. Its aim is not to harm people but to chase them away. There are different types of rhinos in the world. There is the black rhino, Indian rhino which is horned, Sumatran rhinos and the Javan rhinos.

Extinction can either be caused directly or indirectly by man.  The southern rhino in South Africa nearly were extinct but recovered. Right now the current herd of southern rhino is numbering around 21,000. Additionally, only 5,000 black rhinos are left, 3,500 Indian one-horned rhinos left in Nepal and India, 100 Sumatran rhinos (which have long hair) and only 60 Javan rhino left. Also the Javan rhinoceros is in danger of extinction as it is poached for properties of its horn used in traditional Chinese medicine.

The name ‘white’ rhinoceros comes from the Afrikaans wording and pronunciation of the dutch world (wgd) meaning (wide). This refers to the square upper lip, as opposed to the pointed or hooked lip of the black rhinoceros.The last 20 northern white rhino nearly went extinct in the 1990’s. The remaining northern white rhino which remained in Garamba national park in the Democratic Republic of Congo were all almost killed in the war that gripped the country until 2000s.

As known to us, Sudan had the last remaining northern white rhino which was male. Sudan left two female white rhinos on the planet. These two female white rhino are Najin and granddaughter Fatu. These two females are young yet they cannot conceive naturally without a white male rhino. The last male northern white rhino named Suri died in 2014.

If only poaching would cease we would have prevented the extinction of the male northern white rhino. But still it’s not good to dwell in the past. We can still save the remaining rhinos, especially the Javan rhinoceros which only remain 60 in number in the whole world.