These are Great One Horned Rhinos I photographed in Chester Zoo ten years ago.
The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros and great Indian rhinoceros, is a rhinoceros native to the Indian subcontinent. It is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, as populations are fragmented and restricted to less than 20,000 km2 (7,700 sq mi). Moreover, the extent and quality of the rhino's most important habitat, alluvial grassland and riverine forest, is considered to be in decline due to human and livestock encroachment. The Indian rhinoceros once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced their range drastically to 11 sites in northern India and southern Nepal. As of 2008, a total of 2,575 mature individuals were estimated to live in the wild.
Rhinos are amazing. If we humans don't stop fouling our beautiful nest, we won't have them anymore, and that makes me very sad.
ReplyDeleteSince the rhinos can't thank you for calling attention to their needs, I will. Thank you. They are special animals. I joined my first wildlife conservation group at age 11 and still do what I can to help them.
ReplyDeleteOnly this past week, O.K. and I went to the zoo in Stuttgart. They have a rhino there, but I don't know which species, as we did not stop to look at the information next to its enclosure. The zoo is huge and we wanted to see "everything" (we didn't), and I must admit by the time we came past the rhino, we were both hungry and thirsty and on the lookout for a café. Sorry, dear rhinos, we didn't mean any disrespect!
ReplyDeleteI just hope that we will be celebrating it for many decades to come.
ReplyDeleteHAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU!!!!!
ReplyDeleteI like the Rhino post, but I like your posts better! Please come back.
ReplyDeleteI didn't know about Rhino day and I missed it this year (although it seems a good idea, according to the urgency and needs, to celebrate Rhino day every day), so I'm very glad that you attracted our attention to it.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful and amazing animals they are!