When people think dangerous animals in the wild, their minds automatically go for the big boys: Elephants, Lions, Tigers, Crocodiles, Alligators, and even Hippos. While these are the biggest and obvious threats that people gain as much knowledge as possible about, there are also other animals in the animal kingdom that one should pay attention to. One such animal is the rhino.
What is a Rhino?
The word rhino is actually an abbreviation: The full name is actually known as rhinoceros.
Rhinos have a large and robust body, cylindrical is form with a large head. Surprisingly, their brains are quite small, especially in consideration with their body size. Their legs are relatively short, and they also have a short tail.
But of course, we can’t forget the defining characteristic feature of these creatures: The large horn located in the middle of their face. The average size of these horns varies depending on the species, and depending on the species, they may even have a smaller second horn.
Contrary to popular belief, these horns can actually grow back when cut off, so long as the horn itself is taken above the growth layer of the skin. They’re like fingernails in that regard.
Actually, to add on to that, their horns are made out of a protein called keratin, which is what makes up our hair and fingernails. Yup, that’s right, rhino horns are essentially just giant fingernails. Or maybe we can say that our fingernails are mini rhino-horns? In any case, this means that the only difference between our fingernails and a rhino horn is their shape.
Rhino diet
While the specific kind of plants that a rhino might get depends on the species type, they all share the same trait of being entirely herbivores.
This means that you probably don’t have to worry about an angry rhino goring you with its horns only to munch on your corpse because it’s hungry. Some species of rhino don’t even have teeth at the front of their mouths! As a result, these rhinos have to rely on their lips to pluck out food. I’m, of course, talking about the black rhino, which enjoys browsing around and looking for leaves and fruit hanging from the branches of trees and bushes. In comparison, the white rhinos prefer to graze on grass.
Rhino attack?
Despite their seemingly peaceful disposition, rhinos are very much dangerous. They may not have the appetite of a hungry lion or tiger, but their body can still deal immense damage to you all the same. How they react to threats can once again depend on the species itself.
Black rhinos, for instance, have a very nervous temperament and can be quite jumpy. As a result, they can be very aggressive when surprised, wherein their fight or flight instincts kicks in and they choose to fight. This can be anything from another wild animal like a lion that chooses it as its prey, or nearby humans like explorers or poachers.
In comparison, White rhinos are less likely to attack you. Instead, these beasts prefer to take off and run away, as they do not like facing threats head-on. This does not mean that they will not charge threats that it thinks it cannot run away from, however. It can and still will charge people and animals if threatened.
Rhinos generally attack by, you guessed it, charging towards the threat with their head down and horns pointed at said threat.
Black Rhinos usually charge unfamiliar things like nearby humans or threats. They don’t exactly have the best eyesight, so they may accidentally charge into inanimate objects. Though to compensate, their sense of hearing and smell is boosted. They can be quite stubborn too; a black rhino that has finished an attack may retreat into the bushes… but only to charge you again just so they can ambush you.
And don’t think you’ll be able to outrun rhinos anytime soon, considering that they can reach speeds of up to 35 miles per hour. In comparison, Usain Bolt clocks in at 27.33 miles per hour. If the fastest man alive can’t outrun a rhino, what makes you think that you can?
Attack on rhinos
Rhinos are dangerous and not exactly pacifists, but they are more or less gentle and prefer to be left alone.
Unfortunately, a good number of humans don’t think that way. With rhino poaching causing their populations to drop massively, black rhinos are now considered a critically endangered species.
Poachers typically dehorn rhinos and sell them on the black market, where they are used to make Chinese Traditional Medicine or simply to use them as a symbol of wealth and prosperity. We mentioned earlier that dehorning can be done well and properly, but poachers usually do not dehorn properly and destroy the growth layer of the horn, meaning that the horn cannot regrow. This also makes the rhino very vulnerable to infection. Poachers may even choose to simply kill a rhino to get their horns easily.
To complicate things even more, rhinos are quite picky about the type of habitat that they want to give birth in, which plays a factor in their reproduction rates.
Rhinos aren’t a danger to humans, but it’s the opposite. It is us humans who are a danger to rhinos.