When in doubt, charge!
That's the rule an irritated rhino follows. These living armored tanks have good hearing and a great sense of smell, but very poor eyesight. They sometimes charge blindly, huffing and puffing, before they even know where an intruder is, and before they're sure that the intruder is an enemy.
Male rhinos mark their territories with piles of dung called middens. When a male encounters another male in his territory, the two usually stare at each other for a while. If neither one backs off, a fight may start. An upward sweep of a rhino's horn can open a huge gash in an opponent's flesh.
If you expect a white rhino to be white, you'll be disappointed. The name comes from a corruption of the Afrikaans word for "wide," which refers to the wide, square lips of this rhinoceros. A "white" or square-lipped rhino's mouth is designed for grazing, while a black rhino's pointed upper lip allows it to eat a variety of plants, or browse.
All rhinos enjoy a good roll in the mud or dust. This activity may help keep mites off their skin, or it may just feel good. Rhinos can't roll all the way over on their backs because of their high, ridged backbones, but they enjoy rubbing their bellies, sides, and heads on the ground whenever they can.
Both black and white rhinos have been slaughtered for their horns. Some horns are sold in Asia, because some Asian cultures believe that powder from a rhino horn can cure all kinds of illnesses. Many horns end up in Yemen, where men make them into knife handles. At times, rhino horn has been worth more money per ounce than gold. Today, most African governments are trying to stop the killing of rhinos.
Normally you wouldn't think of an animal that eats plants as particularly dangerous. But just like the rhinoceros, these other African herbivores can be real threats when they're upset.
Once three different types of rhinos roamed over Asia–greater one-horned, Javan, and Sumatran rhinos. Now all these rhinos have been nearly wiped out.
No defense against a gun — Rhinos can weigh two or three tons, charge at 50 kilometers (31 mi) per hour, and they've even been known to ram their horns through the sides of trucks and trains. But all that power is no defense against the guns of poachers who kill rhinos for their horns.
Source: Microsoft Dangerous Creatures (1994) CD-ROM. Text liberated from original screen art; images & clip restored from disc. Original media is Microsoft/supplier copyright — placeholder pending swap to open-licensed assets. Credits & Acknowledgements →