Asian Rhinoceros

The Indian Rhinoceros

The one-horned Indian rhino takes pride of place as the largest Asian rhino. It is about 3.8m in length, 1.7m high and weighs about 2,200 kg.

The grey-coloured Indian rhino is easily identified by the 'armour plates' on its legs which are actually big folds of thick skin. It can run at 35 kph, holding its tail down.

Indian rhinos, like other species of rhinos, have been killed in large numbers for their horn. Today they are found only in the Terai-flood plains of Assam in India, Bhutan and Nepal.

The Indian rhino likes to graze in reed beds and swamps. It eats shrubs and tall grasses but also feeds on young low-lying grass, twigs and water plants like the water hyacinth.

Less than 3,000 Indian rhinos survive in the wild.

The Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

Javan rhinos have a single very short horn and a unique knobbly skin. During the dry season they use moist low-lying places or large rivers to cool their body. The Javan rhino is a browser and feeds on bushes and saplings and prefers to live in thick forests.

The Javan rhino is the rarest Asian rhino. Its 2 small populations are restricted to western Java and Vietnam. Fewer than 60 individuals survive in the wild and there are none in captivity.

The Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

The small Sumatran rhino moves through the rainforests of east Asia and is found scattered throughout Sumatra, northern Borneo, and the Malay Peninsula.

The Sumatran rhino is the only Asian rhino to have 2 horns and is the smallest of all its relatives. It is about 1.3 m at the shoulder. Unlike other species of rhinos, the Sumatran rhino has sparse reddish hair on its body. Its skin folds are less distinct than those of other Asiatic species.

The Sumatran rhino eats branches and shoots, leaves, fruits, lichens and fungi. It is highly endangered, with less than 300 individuals left in the wild.