Interesting Facts about Rhinoceros

Today’s article is about Interesting facts of Rhinoceros. Whenever we think about a Rhinoceros a first thing comes to our mind is their horn/horns. But there are many other interesting facts which we generally don’t know about them. We hope this article will give you some insights about that.

The word Rhinoceros comes from two words: rhino which means nose and ceros meaning horn.

Various types of rhinoceros are found viz. white, black, greater one horned, Javan and Sumatran. Black, white and Sumatran Rhinos have two horns where as Javan and one horned rhinos have only one horn.
Among Rhinos White rhinoceros is the largest. They can weight up to 2500 kgs. They are the largest terrestrial animal after Elephants. Javan Rhinos are the smallest among Rhinos. They can reach a maximum of 900 kgs.

They are herbivorous animal. Black rhinos have prehensile upper lip which helps them to grasp grass. A rhino consumes a lot of plant matter like leaves, grass, bushes etc. and in a normal condition produce close to 50 kgs of dung per day. The unique feature of their dung is that the smell of the dung is different for male female and juvenile.

They have a very thick layer (In an average about 1.5 cm) of skin. Despite this huge thickness their skin is relatively very sensitive towards sunburn or insect bites. Sumatran Rhino has long hair through their body whereas all the rest of the rhinos are hairless.

They are not known for their eye sight which is usually very poor. But they compensate that with excellent sense of smell and hearing.

The famous horn of the rhinoceros is made up of hairs and not bones. Rhino calves are born without horns. These horns continue to grow through out their lifetime.

Rhinoceros is a perissodactyle animal i.e. only one toe of their feet has modified to became the hoof. So they are much more closely related to horse and Zebra than many others. To know more about animal classification click here.

Though they appear to be a slow moving animal they can reach a top speed of 60 km per hour. If you want to know about all the animals which have amazing speed check out this article.

Male rhinos are solitary animal whereas the female rhinos are much more social and stay in groups. A group of Rhino is called a Crash. Rhinos have a very long (close to 2 years) gestation period. Only elephants in the animal kingdom have a greater gestation period than rhinos.
They can live for a period of 35 to 40 years.

Due to their large size and aggressive nature not many animals hunt Rhinos. However Lions, Tigers, crocodiles and wild dogs have sometimes preyed on baby or sick rhinoceros but humans are by far the biggest threat to Rhinos. It is believed particularly in Asia that Rhino’s horns have medicinal properties. But there are no evidence of this has been found. Among all the species 3 (black, Sumatran, and Javan) have been registered under critically endangered in IUCN Red list.

As for you all rhino lovers to know September 22 has been celebrated as world rhino day.

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Horses: some interesting facts

Horses are very interesting animals; they are a part of human civilization from a very early period. Here in this article we will discuss some interesting facts about them.

Horses are the member of the order perisodactyla in class mammalia. The details of classification can be found here.

The horse has evolved from a small multi-toed creature to a large single toed animal over 55 million years.

They have been domesticated at around 3500 BC.

The male horse is called stallion, the female horse is called mare and the newborn is called a foal.

Foals are born with larger legs (90% of their adult length). Most of them are born at nights. After 1 hour from their birth, they can stand.

Though horses are famous for their galloping movements, there are 3 other types of movement: walk, trot, and canter. They are known for their speed and can reach up to a speed of 70 km/h. they are one of the fastest animals on this planet.

They have a very good sense of balance.

There are 150 different breeds and types of horses found in the world.

Horses sleep only two to three hours in a day. Most of the time, they sleep standing. Though they lay down but it is for short time.

Unlike ruminants, their digestive system is a one way traffic. They don’t re-chew the food particles one it reached the stomach. They can’t burp, vomit or even take breathe with their mouth.

Arabian horses have 17 ribs (one less than other horse breeds), 5 lumber vertebrae (one less than other horse breeds) and 16 tail vertebrae (others have 18).

Horses have 64 chromosomes. They have 205 bones in average. They don’t posses the collar bone like a human.

They have the largest eye of any land animal. The eyes are laterally place and have a 350 degree span. The external ear can rotate 180 degree.

The hoof of a horse is like finger nail and it constantly grows. For a domestic horse it needs to be clipped after 5 to 6 weeks. They have 4 toes in front and 3 toes in the back foot.

Horses are measured in ‘Hands’. Their size varies from breed to breed. Their average size ranges from 14 to 18 hands.

The gestation period of a horse is approximately 340 days.

Horse can breed with donkey. The result of their breeding is Mule (male donkey and female horse) or Hinny (male horse and female donkey).

Horses have an average life span of 30 to 35 years. The age of a horse can be estimated by its teeth.

Horses are herd animals. In the wild they live in herds. The herd is usually dominated by a mare. They are very social animal and are more comfortable living in company than alone. It can be very stressful for a horse to live alone. They can form companionship along with their own species, and other animals including humans.

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Speedsters in Animal Kingdom

You must have heard the line “Speed thrills but it kills”. But in animal kingdom the phrase is not applicable. It is this speed that makes these animals unique and also acts as a survival tool. In this article we will discuss some of the animals with amazing speed. Some of them runs, some swim and some fly. Some even hop. But what ever is their locomotion, they are best at it. 

These data has been taken from Wikipedia. Just to realize how fast they are, consider this: the top speed of human is considered to be 44.72 km/h (as per the world record).

Peregrine Falcon: they are the fastest of all the living animals. Top speed can reach up to 370 km/h or above.

Horse-fly: Male species of horse fly are known to be the fastest insect in the world. They can fly at a speed of 140 km/h.

Cheetah: They are the fastest animal on land. They can reach up to a speed of 90 km/h from 0 within 3 seconds. The cheetah can run best at short burst. The endurance of this animal is very poor. The top speed can reach up to 120 km/h. More on cheetah in this article.

Hummingbird: They are the smallest bird in the world. They can reach up to a speed of 98 km/h.

Ostrich: They are very good runner and can reach a top speed of 95 km/h. the endurance of a ostrich is very good it can run at a speed of 50 km/h for half an hour. They are the tallest and heaviest species among the birds. 

American Antelope: They are the fastest animal if you consider long distance running. They can run at 56 km/h for a distance of 6 km. whereas the top speed of this animal can reach up to 89 km/h and they can continue it for 800 meters.

Greyhound Dogs: They are the fastest among all the dogs. Their top speed can reach up to 75 km/h.

Horse: The top speed of a horse has been recorded as 70.76 km/h. find more interesting facts about Horses here.

Kangaroo: The normal speed of a hopping kangaroo is around 25 km/h. But their top speed can reach up to 70 km/h. More interesting facts about kangaroo in this article.

Zebra: Top speed of a Zebra is about 60 km/h. More on Zebra can be found here.

Leatherback sea turtle: Among the various sea turtles their bodies are the most hydrodynamic. They can swim at a top speed of 35 km/h. you can find more interesting facts on turtles in this article.

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Polar Bears: Some Unknown Facts

Earlier I have shared some interesting facts abut Penguins which lives in the Antarctic. Today I will share some facts about an inhabitant of the other part of the globe The Polar Bears, which live predominantly in the Arctic circle.

The scientific name of polar bear is Ursus maritimus. Which means maritime bear. As they live mostly in the water.

They have developed several adaptation features for living in the arctic circle.The body of a polar bear is covered by 10 cm thick blabber which protect them from cold weather. Large furry feet and short, sharp, stocky claws giving it good traction on ice.

The fur which seems to us as white is originally not white. It is hollow and reflects light and thus seems as white. 

They don’t drink water. They get the supply of liquid from their prey.

Polar bear is the world’s largest land predator. They have fantastic sense of smell and can detect seals from more 1.5 km away. They also have a good sense of hearing and vision.

They show very explicit sexual dimorphism. A male can grow up to 11 feet and weigh over 1500 lbs whereas females are just half of their size. A newborn is very light(one lb in weight) when compared to mature sizes. The male bear called Boar, the female called sow.

Polar bear builds den with multiple rooms to live as well as with ventilation systems. They reach hibernation like state in the den. Unlike other mammals the body temperature does not decrease during this state but the heart rate slows down considerably.

Polar bear mainly eats seals. They hunt primarily at the interface between ice, water and air. After eating its prey, they clean themselves using water or snow. A liver of a polar bear is so enriched in vitamin A that it is poisonous to human being if eaten.

Polar bear can swim at a pace of 6 mile per hour. But they can can swim up to 100 miles at a stretch. They don’t have any paddle or flipper they swim using their forepaws for propulsion. They can run at a speed up to 40 km/h.

There are no chance that a polar bear and a penguin can ever meet as they live in the opposite ends of the earth. The Greek word for bear is arctic. So Antarctic(where most of the penguins live) literally mans a place where there is no bear. Like penguins, most polar bear born on the land but spend most of their life at sea. 

Unlike Grizzly Bear they are not territorial by nature.

The life expectancy of a polar bear is 25 years.

Only human hunts polar bears. There are no other predator known who hunt them.

They are classified under vulnerable species under IUCN. It is predicted that by 2050 two third of the population will be lost due to global warming and other man made pollutions.

Hope you enjoyed the article. Thanks for reading.

Some interesting facts about Rabbits

There are several different species of rabbits including European rabbit and cotton tail rabbits are included in the total rabbit family. They should not be confused with hares. Hares generally are larger and do not live inside a burrow. Here I will only discuss about The Rabbits.

The size of a rabbit can vary from 20cm to 50cm in length and 0.4 kg to 2 kg in weight.

Rabbit is a social animal. They lives in groups. All rabbits (except the cottontail rabbit) live underground in burrows.

Most of the rabbit population is in North America(more than 50% of total rabbit population). Apart from North America they are also found in southern Asia, Europe, Japan and some parts of Africa and South America.

Rabbits ear is very long can reach upto 10cm in length. The long ears help them to detect predators in the jungle.

Rabbits have a near 360-degree vision and can even see behind them. They have just one blind spot right in front of their nose.

Rabbits have 28 teeth. They have two sets of incisor teeth one behind another.

Male rabbits are called bucks whereas the females are called does. The young ones are called kits. 

Rabbits are herbivores i.e, they eat plants. They prefer green leafy vegetation.

Rabbits are coprophagous i.e, they eat their own feces. They pass two different types of feces viz. hard droppings and soft black viscous pellets. They eat those pellets(called caecotrophs) immediately after extracting. Unlike other herbivores(such as cow) they do not chew the cud, rather ingest own droppings to extract the required nutrients. Rabbits can not vomit.

The fur of rabbits can range from pure white to black or grey. Although they were born without fur.

They have large and very strong hind legs. This helps them to jump 3 ft or higher. The front two paws have 5 toes whereas hind feet have 4 toes. They can run very fast. They can reach a speed of 30 to 40km per hour.

Rabbits have average sleeping time of 8-9 hours. They can live up to 12 years.

In popular cultures rabbits are often used as a symbol of fertility. It has also been related with characters such as Easter Bunny, Bugs Bunny etc. It is also relates to the perception of innocence.  

Hope you got some facts which was not known to you. If you have any experience of having a rabbit as a pet, please share it with us.

Cheetah: The Speedstar

Cheetahs have been in interest for all the people who love associating themselves with speed. This article will put some lights on this exciting cat species. 

Cheetahs should not be mistaken with Leopards. They possess tear lines, which run from corner of its eye till their mouth are absent in Leopards. Also unlike Leopards they do not have rosette like spots. The body frame of cheetah is also thinner than a Leopard.

The word “Cheetah” is derived from Sanskrit word of chitrakayah meaning having variety of colors.

Scientific name of cheetah is Acinonyx jubatu. They are the sole member of their genus(Acinonyx). The rest of the species have become extinct.

The cheetah originated over 4 million years ago. That’s long before any of the other big cats of today.

An adult cheetah can weigh up to 20 to 70 kg while its length varies from 110 to 150cm. Though males tend to be little larger than the females and have slightly larger head, it is very difficult to distinguish between males and females just by appearance alone.

Like all other cats cheetahs are also carnivorous. They eat mostly mammals like gazelles. Sometimes they hunt wildebeest or zebras when hunting in groups. 

Males tend to live in small groups of 2-3 individuals, usually brothers. They are extremely territorial and mark their territory by urinating on objects like dogs.

Unlike other cats or their male counterpart, female Cheetahs are solitary and do not establish territories. They always hunt alone(though sometimes cubs join their mother to learn hunting). 

Cheetahs can live up to 12 years in wild and 20 years in captive condition. Males reach maturity at the age of 1 year where as for female it is 20 to 22 months.

Cheetah is the fastest land animal in the world, reaching speeds of up to 113km/h. They can accelerate from 0 to 100km/h in just 3 seconds.

The paws of a cheetah have semi retractile claws. It helps in better grip in high speed chase. The dewclaw is much shorter and straighter than other members of their cat family. Cheetah uses its tail as a rudder during  sharp turn in its chase to catch a prey. They are the only big cat that can turn in mid-air while sprinting. They possess large nostrils to allow increased oxygen intake during running. Enlarged heart and lungs to circulate efficient oxygen supply.

Running on high speed puts much strain on their bodies. While sprinting the body temperature elevates very quickly. So if they fail to catch their prey quickly they have to gave up the chase.

Unlike other cats, Cheetahs are born with their characteristic spots. They are native to Africa and Asia.

Cheetah can not roar like other cats, however they do have a range of other meaningful vocalizations such as purring, growling and a variety of contact calls which resemble bird-like chirping sounds.

A cheetah has 50% chance of loosing its kill to other predators. That is why they eat immediately after killing its prey. They usually avoid fighting with other carnivores and surrender its kill even to a single hyena.

Cheetahs are caring, affectionate and dedicated mothers. They spend a long time caring for their cubs and teaching them essential survival skills like hunting. Cubs typically stay with their mothers for one and a half to two years.

In ancient time(3000 BC) cheetahs have been tamed by human. They have been used as pets and trained for hunting purposes. This trend initiated in ancient Egypt and then subsequently followed to Persia and India.

Cheetahs are included in the list of vulnerable species by IUCN. Cheetah cubs have high mortality rates(90% of their cubs died in the early weeks of their rearing). Low genetic diversity, predation by other carnivores, birth defects along with loss of habitat and poaching are the cause for their low counts.

Hope this reading has been enjoyable for you. A lot of animal still to come. So keep visiting.