Animals Directory

Archive for the ‘Rhino horn’ Category

Unlike the horns of other species such as antelopes, the rhinoceros does not have a bony core, but are made of keratin, the same substance as hair and nails in other mammals. The two African species and the Sumatran rhino has two horns, while the Indian and Java have only one.

The rhinoceros family is characterized by its large size, being of the few mega fauna species considered to exist today, along with elephants and hippos, all species may exceed at least a ton of weight. All are herbivores, and their skin is thick and strong, between 1.5 and 5 cm thick, formed by layers of collagen.

Have relatively small brains for their body size (between 400 and 600 g). Although usually feed on leaves, their ability to ferment food in the colon allows them to survive by consuming more woody plant material such as roots and branches, if necessary. Unlike other species of Peristaltic, the African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of the mouth, using a powerful chewing premolars and molars for crushing the food of vegetable origin.

Rhinos have a keen sense of smell and a sensitive ear, but very poor eyesight. Their maximum life expectancy is 60 years. The length of the head and body is 240 to 315 cm in the Sumatran rhinoceros and from 335 to 420 cm in the white rhinoceros. The peso, which is 800 kg in the Sumatran rhino can reach 3,600 kg in the white rhinoceros.

All species are Peristaltic, ie have a more developed middle finger on each leg, which serves as a mainstay, and two fingers under the sides. That gives your prints the characteristic appearance of an ace of clubs. In the case of white and Indian rhinoceros, adult males are much larger than females, but in other species, males and females have a similar size.

Rhinos have poor vision but are able to distinguish a person immobile up to about 30 m away. The eyes are set on both sides of his head. His ear is very thin, and the ears are tubular, moving rapidly in the direction whence the sound. But its most developed is the smell, the amount of olfactory tissue in the mouth than brain size.

All rhinos are herbivores and require a large amount of food daily to maintain its high volume. They can tolerate relatively high fiber foods in your diet, thanks to the ability of your colon to ferment and digest the woody plant tissue, but prefer more nutritious and soft parts when available.

Males reach reproductive capacity between seven and eight years old, but not usually breed until at least ten years. A peculiarity of rhinos is that the testes do not descend into the scrotum, and penis, when retracted, is directed backward. Females have two teats located between the two hind legs. Births occur at any time of year, but in the case of African rhino births occur in greater numbers between the end of the rainy season and mid-dry season.