Crashing With Rhinos Trivia Quiz

Answer: Fighting

Being herbivores, rhinos need large, flat grinding teeth in order to deal with the more fibrous components of their diet. The vestigial incisors of the Asian species - Javan, Indian and Sumatran - have developed into weapons, which males use to slash at each other during territorial bouts.

The defining horn of the rhinoceros is also used as a weapon by both males and females. These fearsome looking organs, which are made from the protein keratin, can grow in excess of 150 cm. Whereas the white, black and Sumatran species typically possess two horns, the Indian and Javan species only possess one.

Answer: The Sumatran rhinoceros

The time when the living species of rhinos appeared varies between sources, but in any case the Sumatran species is seen as the most primitive. The Sumatran rhino emerged between 15 and 20 million years ago, and is of a separate lineage or "tribe" to the other two Asian species, not to mention its African cousins.

The Javan and Indian rhinos belong to the same lineage as one another.

Answer: They are social

Whilst male white rhinos remain solitary, females (with their calves) can form social groups of up to 14 animals.

The name of this large animal is misleading, as "white" comes from the Dutch word "weit", meaning wide.

As well as being broad in size, the white rhino has a wide mouth, with flat lips specially adapted for grazing, rather than browsing.

The white rhino is usually described as the largest of all rhino species, but its size can be rivalled by the Indian rhino. Both, along with the hippopotamus, are sometimes classed as the second largest land animals on earth, behind the elephant (or third largest if classing the Indian and African elephants separately). The male white rhino can weigh up to 2.3 tonnes and can be up to 13 ft long.

Answer: Indonesia

A population of no more than eight of these critically endangered animals is thought to exist in the Cat Tien National Park in Vietnam (taken from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Javan_Rhinoceros).

The main reason for their decline is poaching, as their horns are valuable ingredients in Chinese medicine. This seems odd, as the horn of the Javan rhinoceros is the smallest of all rhino species - less than 10 inches. The female Javan rhino often possesses little or no horn, but just a hardened lump.

The Javan rhino belongs to the same genus as the Indian rhino and displays the same armour-plated look on its skin. However, the Javan rhino is significantly smaller than the Indian, and is more similar in size to the black rhino.

Answer: To cool themselves down

Whilst the African rhinos wallow in mud, the Asian species tend to sit in water pools to cool themselves. They spend long periods of time in these pools, as once they emerge they are again vulnerable to insect bites.

Whilst rhinos are not social mammals (with the exception of the female white rhino), the mud and water pools often provide them with the chance to meet with other rhinos, as well as other species of animals, such as zebras and warthogs. These run-ins are not always amicable, with rhinos throwing their weight around in order to get the first sip, or just to vent sexual aggression.

Answer: To contrast with the white rhinoceros

As mentioned previously, the white rhino's name has nothing to do with its colour (which is virtually indistinguishable from that of the black rhino), but is rather a corruption of a Dutch word meaning "wide."

Whilst the black rhinoceros is far smaller than the white and Indian rhinoceroses and slightly smaller than the Javan species, it has, by far, the most formidable horn. The black rhinoceros's horn can measure up to 53 inches, whereas the horn of the white rhino "only" comes in a 47 inches. The horns of the African species are significantly longer and sharper than those possessed by the Asian species - the Indian rhino's horn usually can only grow up to 18 inches.

The aggression of the black rhino may be rivalled by the Indian rhino, or perhaps the Indian elephant (especially when in musth). The black rhinos will not hesitate to utilise their horn when in a duel and have the highest rate amongst mammals of fatalities as a result of intraspecies fighting.

Answer: The greater one-horned rhinoceros

Though not referred to as the armoured rhinoceros, the Indian rhino, like the Javan species, has an armour-plated look to its skin. Whilst the Indian rhino is known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, the Javan rhino is the lesser one-horned.

Whereas the Javan rhinoceroses numbered less than 60 and the Northern white rhinoceros (sub-species) at just 4, the Indian rhino population is on the rise, and has been since 1910. (Population of Javan and Northern white rhinos is given as figure in 2010.)

Hunted mercilessly the years before, the Indian rhino population in 1910 stood at only 100, but by 2002 had reached 2,400. (Info from http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/finder/indianrhinoceros/indianrhinoceros.html.)

As well as possessing qualities of both the white and black rhinoceroses (size and aggression), the Indian rhino is also similar to both African species in terms of diet. Its lip is slightly pointed, but its mouth is broad at the same time, allowing it to both browse, like the black rhino, and graze, like the white.

Answer: It possesses internal testicles

Rhinos' testicles are undescended and so remain in the body. Even more unusual is that rhinos belong to a magnorder known as Boreoeutheria, which is characterised by its male members having *descended* testicles. (This magnorder also includes humans.) Other animals whose testicles are typically undescended include elephants and platypuses, but these do not belong to the magnorder Boreoeutheria.

Females of the larger species (white and Indian) usually give birth to their first calf between the ages of 6 and 8. This age is slightly lower for the smaller black rhino. Males begin to breed a little later, as they mature at an older age and must first gain dominant status (by attaining territory).

Answer: It is covered in rusty brown hair

Though sparse, the coat of hair is long and covers parts of the tough hide, giving it a rusty appearance.

Due to its reclusive behaviour and low population (thought to be less than 275 in 2010), little is known about the Sumatran rhino. It is known, however, that this animal is primarily a browser, eating a wide range of vegetation. It is also known to sometimes live at high altitudes, perhaps forced out of their lowland homes by human activity.

According to the WWF website, as of 2010, both Eastern and Western subspecies of Sumatran rhino are classed as "critically endangered."

Answer: Soft hics

The vocalizations of rhinos have not been researched in great depth, but several noises produced by the white rhino have been recorded. Loud squeals are often used by a bull white rhino to urge females not to leave his territory and shrieks are released to scare another animal away.

White rhinos' noises have been studied more than other rhinoceros species, due to their tendency of being more social. However, observations recorded in Cincinnati Zoo in 2002 led to zoologists concluding that Sumatran rhinos release noises consistently when in the presence of other rhinos. Many of the sounds are too low in frequency to be detected by human ears, and some of the vocalisations of rhinos of all species have been likened to the song of the humpback whale.