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Rhinoceros Animal Study and Lapbook


Research by Debbie Palmer
Minit books by Ami

Vocabulary

Herbivore-eats plants
Browser-feeding on the leaves of trees and bushes
Keratin- a protein that makes up hair, nails, and horns
Poachers- to hunt an animal that is protected by law
Crash- a group of rhinos
Territorial- making claim to a certain area

Literature

The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe by CS Lewis (Black rhinos fight the White Witch)

Just So Stories by Rudyard Kipling

Who Wants a Cheap Rhinoceros by Shel Silverstein

Babar the King by Jean de Brunhoff

Classification

Kingdom: Animalia (animal)

Phylum: Chordata (having a backbone)

Class: Mammalia (mammal)

Order: Perissodactyla (animals having an odd number of toes on their hooves)

Family: Rhinocerotidae (includes the five living species of rhinos)

Physical Characteristics

Rhinos are large with a thick, grayish protective skin. The Asian rhinos have so much skin that it gives the illusion of armored plating. The white rhino is the 2^nd largest land mammal (the elephant being the first). They range in weight from 750 lbs. to 2 ½ tons and can be four to six feet tall!  They have either one or two horns depending on species.  Rhinos have poor eyesight, but a good sense of smell and hearing.  Because of their poor eyesight, they can be easily startled and then will charge.

Habitat

There are two species of African rhinos and three Asian rhinos. Their habitats include savannas and dense forests in tropical and subtropical areas.

Diet

Rhinos are herbivores. They eat either grass or the leaves of trees and bushes.

Social behavior/Families

Rhinos are normally solitary creatures only coming together to mate.  Sometimes females or juveniles will form small groups.  Males are very territorial and will mark their territories.  Babies will stay with their mothers for 18 months up to three years depending on the species.  A male is called a bull, a female is a cow, a baby is called a calf.  The name for a group of rhinos is called a “crash”!

The Horns

The horns are made from a substance called keratin (which also makes up human hair and fingernails).  The horns are used for protection and for fighting for territory and for females. Rhinos can sharpen their horns on other objects such as rocks and trees. Both African species and the Sumatran rhinos have two horns.  The Indian and Javan rhinos have only one. The African species have the longest horns.  The white and black rhinos’ front horn can reach 4 ½ ft. in length.  Over the years, rhinos have been killed by poachers for their horns. Rhino horns are used in traditional Asian medicine and for dagger handles in Yemen and Oman. A rhino’s horn can be removed under anesthetic which will increase its chances of survival from poachers.

Five Types of Rhinos

White Rhino

These rhinos live in small pockets of eastern and southern Africa. They are the largest and most numerous of all the rhinos.  Males (weighing up to 2 ½ tons) are larger than females and have longer horns.  They also have humped shoulders. These are the most sociable rhinos out of the five species. Mother-calf pairs will stay together longer than other species and youngsters will form small groups of up to seven animals.  Adult males are solitary. They have a straight wide upper lip (hence the name of “white rhino”-see the fun facts below) which has given them a secondary name, squared-lipped rhino. This type of mouth enables them to graze on grasses.

Black Rhino

Black rhinos also live in small pockets of eastern and southern Africa. Black rhinos (weighing up to 1 ½ tons) are smaller than white rhinos.  Black rhinos are considered “browsers” because they eat the leaves of low trees and bushes. They have a pointed upper lip that helps them grab leaves and push them into their mouths.   It feeds mainly at dusk or at night. Black rhinos tend to be solitary and very territorial.

Indian Rhino

Indian rhinos live in south Asia in the Brahmaputra valley. Indian rhinos can weigh up to two tons. Unlike the African rhinos, they have only one horn.  They are known for the deep folds in their skin that looks like armor plates.   These rhinos are the most aquatic of the five species.  They love to wade and swim.  They tend to feed on grasses at twilight or at night.

Javan Rhino

This is one of the rarest large mammals on earth. They live in small areas of Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia in the jungles. Like the Indian rhino, they have deep folds in their skin and only one horn (hence its other name, lesser one-horned rhino). They are nocturnal browsers. They are hairless except for their ears and the tip of their tail.

Sumatran Rhino

This rhino is very solitary and secretive.  They live in Borneo and Sumatra.  They have the most fur and live in higher altitudes. It tends to rest in wallows by day and browses at night. It is the only Asian rhino with two horns.

Population (approximate)

White rhino: 7, 500

Black rhino: 2, 400

Indian rhino: 2,000

Sumatran rhino: 400

Javan rhino: fewer than 100

Conservation Status

White rhino: near threatened

Black rhino: critically endangered

Indian rhino: endangered

Sumatran rhino: critically endangered

Javan rhino: critically endangered

Fun Facts

The word “rhinoceros” comes from two Greek words:  “rhino”-nose and “ceros”-horn.

The White Rhino isn’t white, and the Black Rhino isn’t even black.  Both are gray or brown in color.  So how did they get their names? The White Rhino gets its name from its wide mouth.  The Afrikaans word for “wide” is “weit”.  This word was misunderstood as being “white”. So the other type of African rhino was called the Black Rhino.

Jokes

What do you call a rhino without a horn? Quiet.

What should you do if a rhino charges you? pay him

What do you do with a blue rhino?  Tell him jokes to cheer him up!