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Rhinoceros Common name for odd-toed ungulates characterized by one or two median horns on the snout. The horns are composed of a fibrous protein found in hair; they are used mostly for digging up bulbs that, with grass and other foliage, constitute the animal's diet. The rhinoceros has a massive body and short, thick legs. Its thick skin is gray or brown. Its acute senses of smell and hearing compensate for its poor vision. Rhinoceroses are solitary animals that may form small herds when living in grassland areas. A single offspring is produced after a gestation of 15 to 18 months; it may stay with the mother for more than two years. Five species exist: three in Asia and the Malay Archipelago, and two in tropical Africa. Rhinoceroses are peaceful and timid except when threatened; a charging rhino is quite dangerous. Although the rhinoceros is a protected animal, four of the five species are nearing extinction because of a large market in Asia for their horns, which are used in artistic carving and are prized as a medicine and aphrodisiac. Scientific classification: Rhinoceroses make up the family Rhinocerotidae. Encarta® 98 Desk Encyclopedia © & 1996-97 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved. |
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Rhinoceros Massive, hoofed mammal of Africa, India, and SE Asia, characterized by one or two horns on the snout made of congealed hair. A thick-skinned vegetarian, it has poor vision but excellent senses of smell and hearing. Solitary and unpredictable, the rhinoceros feeds at night and rests in the shade in the daytime. It has been hunted for its horns, sold powdered as an aphrodisiac and for use in folk medicines, and three of the five species are near extinction. The Concise Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Third Edition Copyright © 2000 Infonautics Corporation. All rights reserved. |
This page was last updated May 11, 2000.| © Copyright 2000, Andrew Fredman
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