BluestSky
The rhinoceros is the largest mammal on land, apart from elephants. An adult rhinoceros can weigh up to 2.5 tons (2.3 tonnes); that is a thousand pounds more than the weigh of the average car.
Rhinoceroses have a lumbering awkward appearance but they are very strong, well-muscled, and capable of running at speeds up to 30 miles per hour (45 kph). They are surprisingly agile and able to turn quickly even on the run.
The skin of the rhinoceros is 3 inches (8cm) thick and deeply folded with speckled lumps. The rhinoceros’ thick folded skin is armor-like. Rhinos (their shortened name) have one or two horns that can reach 4 feet (1.2 m) or more in length. They use their horns to threaten enemies.
There are five species of rhinoceros. Two live in Africa and three live in southern Asia. The black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros live in grass and scrubland in eastern Africa. Despite their names, there is no color difference between them. The black rhinoceros is smaller and has a pointed upper lip. The white rhinoceros has a square upper lip. The white rhino is the largest of all rhinos. It stands 13 feet (4 m) tall; three feet taller than the black rhino.
The Indian rhinoceros, the Sumatran rhinoceros, and the Javan rhinoceros live in southern Asia. The Indian rhinoceros is the largest of the tree and is generally solitary. It lives in the Brahmaputra Valley of India. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the smallest of the three, it grows to 10 feet (32 m) tall, yet still weighs more than 2,000 pounds (950kg). It lives in the forests and highlands of Sumatra and Southeast Asia. The Javan rhinoceros is the rarest of all rhinoceroses and also one of the rarest large mammals in the world. It lives in the coastal mangrove and bamboo marshes of Java and Southeast Asia.
Rhinoceroses live to about 35 to 50 years old. They belong to the family Rhinocerotidae.
