text x_quick_Title2=Class: Mammalia~Order: Perissodactyla~Family: Rhinocerotidae~(Rhinoceros unicornis)
text x_quick=Where In the World~` There are probably as few as 1,500 wild Indian rhinos in the world. There are about 1,080 in a national park in Assam and about 375 in a national park in Nepal. There may still be a few outside the parks, too.~` Indian rhinos are now found in India and Nepal.~` In the past, they were widely distributed across the region, from the Hindu Kush mountains to Burma (now called Myanmar).~ ~Take a Look!~` The Indian rhino can be up to 13 feet long, with a two foot tail. The largest can stand at about six and a half feet at the shoulder.~` They weigh between 4,400 and 8,000 pounds.~` The females are smaller than the males.~` The Indian rhino has one horn (which is about a foot and a half long) and thick, heavy skin that looks like dark grey armour.~ ~All in the Family~` Indian rhinos have four close relatives - the Sumatran rhino and the Javan rhino (both of which live in Asia) and the white rhino and black rhino of Africa.~ ~Just the Facts~` Indian rhinos don't live in close groups, but they get to know their rhino neighbours and are more-or-less friendly with them.~` Because they live in a hot climate, the rhinos are active in the cool hours around dawn and dusk. They sleep during the hottest part of the day.~` Indian rhinos eat leaves, tall grasses, reeds, shoots, and twigs.~` The female is pregnant for 16 months. Her calf weighs about 125 pounds at birth, and stays with her for at least two years.~` In the wild, the estimated life span is about 30 years. In captivity, Indian rhinos have been known to live for 45 to 50 years.
;Habitat
text x_hab= Indian rhinoceros live in the northeastern part of India, in a region called Assam, and over the border into Nepal. There are two national parks that hold almost all the remaining Indian rhinoceros. The park in Assam is called the Kaziranga National Park, and it has a little over a thousand rhinoceros. The Brahmaputra River runs through the area where the rhinos are. In Nepal, the Royal Chitwan National Park has about 375 rhinos. In addition, there are few small populations still surviving in areas that aren't set aside as national parks. ~\
Once, the Indian rhinoceros was much more widespread. It ranged across most of the northern half of India, from the Hindu Kush (the mountains to the north of India, between Pakistan and Afghanistan), across the valley of the Indus River in the west, and far down the valleys of the Ganges and the Brahmaputra Rivers. Long ago, ancient relatives of the Indian rhinoceros roamed across the continents of Asia, Africa, Europe, and even North America. The rhinos in Europe and North America became extinct thousands of years ago because the climate got much cooler. ~\
The rhinoceros live in the swampy land around rivers. Their habitat can include dense forests, reed beds, or open grasslands. Because they live near rivers, the rhinos must be prepared to move from their home territories each season - closer to the river during a drought, far inland during the seasonal floods during~the rainy season. ~\
The best rhino habitat provides plenty of vegetation and lots of water. Because they are so big, rhinos often suffer from the heat. When they can, they lie contentedly in huge mud puddles, called wallows, where the cool water and mud relieves the heat. Indian rhinos also appreciate deeper water, as well, and will spend time standing in much deeper water during the hottest part of the day. When they aren't wallowing or bathing, Indian rhinos pass the middle of the day sleeping in the shade.
;Food
text x_eat= Indian rhinos are so big and fierce in appearance that it's surprising to learn that they eat grasses and leaves - their diet is no more threatening than that of a cow. They move slowly through their swampy habitat, pausing to munch at a tasty clump of plants and then move on. To eat some of the coarse plants that grow in its environment, the Indian rhino has a prehensile upper lip. That means that its lip is very muscular, and can grasp a plant. The rhino twists its head and the plant is pulled free. Another quick move with the lip and the plant is in the mouth and ready to be eaten. ~\
Prehensile means "able to grasp." A monkey has a prehensile tail. And you have prehensile hands. (Maybe you can pick things up with your toes, too. That means you have prehensile feet!) And both of your lips working together are prehensile, because you can grab onto something like a straw and hang onto it while you drink. For an animal as big and bulky as a rhino, a prehensile lip is a big advantage. There's just no way that this animal can reach forward with its front legs to help hold anything.
;Habits and Characterietics
text x_life= Indian rhinos don't live in family groups, but they're tolerant of their rhino neighbours. Each male needs between three and six square miles (females need less room), and they will protect their territory by fighting off strange rhinos. But each rhino becomes familiar with the others in the area, and often their ranges will overlap. In this loose community, one male becomes dominant. Usually, he's the only one who gets to breed. (It's a clever plan by Mother Nature - only the biggest and smartest males can attract a mate. That means that the only calves born inherit their father's superior strength and skills.) The only time neighbouring males fight is when a lesser male wants to mate. Then, the dominant bull forgets that he likes his neighbours and will fight until either male is too wounded to go on. Indian rhinos often die from these injuries. ~\
The victor is free to mate with a female. She is pregnant for well over a year - almost 16 months. The reason she's pregnant so long is because she is a grazing animal. That means she has to keep moving in search of the huge amounts of grasses and leaves she needs to eat. If her calf weren't very well developed, it wouldn't be able to keep up. So she's pregnant for a very long time, but when her calf is born, it can walk along side her within hours of its birth. The calf weighs 125 pounds at birth and is about two feet tall. The mother can become pregnant within six or eight months of giving birth, but she can continue to devote her attention to the calf for another 16 months, until her new calf is born. So she nurses each calf for at least two years. By the time the next one is born, the first is old enough to be on its own. ~\
By the time the calf is fully grown, it's a remarkable sight. The rhinoceros's skin is very thick and heavy. Around the joints, it falls into deep, heavy folds, and the skin is very bumpy. The overall effect is of a huge suit of dark grey armour protecting the rhino from everything. If the tough skin isn't enough, rhinos are also equipped with a long horn. African rhinos have two horns (sometimes even three!), but Asian rhinos have just one. The "horn" isn't actually a horn - it's made of the same fibres that hair and fingernails are made of, not bone. But those fibres are so compressed and dense that you probably wouldn't know the difference! Neither do the rhino's enemies - whatever it's made of, that foot and a half long weapon is enough to scare off any intruder!~\
A rhino is very heavy, and it looks slow, but it can run from 25 to 30 miles an hour for quite a long time. When it's pressed, it can go up to 40 miles an hour for up to 20 minutes. So anyone who thinks they can outrun a rhino may be in for a surprise. A rhino would rather stay in one place, but often they have to move. They like the swampy areas around a river. If the river should flood, the rhino moves whether it wants to or not. Rhinos can travel 125 miles in a single day. Or rather, a single night - they prefer to move in the cooler hours, and only travel by day if they absolutely have to or if the weather is cool.
;Threats
text x_threat= There are five species of rhinoceros in the world, and all of them are endangered. One of the greatest threats to any rhinoceros is
