Species Spotlight: Rhinoceros

rhino

Questions and Answers

How many rhino species are there and where do they live?
There are five species of rhino in the world—two in Africa, and three in Asia.

Why are rhinos important to the environment?
Rhinos are ecosystem engineers in the places where they live. For example, greater one-horned rhinos help maintain the health of their grassland habitat and the waterholes where they wallow, creating ideal conditions for other small herbivores that share their home. Rhinos also disperse the seeds of plants and fruit they’ve eaten through their dung.

What are the greatest threats to rhinos?
Habitat loss and degradation, and poaching for the illegal wildlife trade are the main threats facing Asian and African rhinos.

  • White rhino in South Africa Kruger National Park, standing in front of a thorny bush and with two small birds sitting on nostril and head
  • Asian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis) near water. Kaziranga National Park, India
  • two rhinos in field_Kenya
Learn more about rhinos

 

2023 Species Spotlight

 

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