Indian rhinoceros

2026-05-02T18:09:18Z

14.0.180.61:

{{Short description|Species of rhinoceros}}
{{About|the Greater one horned rhinoceros |the lesser one-horned rhinoceros, which has an extinct subspecies known as the lesser Indian rhinoceros|Javan rhinoceros}}
{{Good article}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2023}}
{{Speciesbox
| name = Indian rhinoceros
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Pleistocene|Recent}}
| image = Great-Indian-one-horned-rhinoceros-at-Kaziranga-national-park-in-Assam-India.jpg
| image_caption = An Indian rhinoceros in [[Kaziranga National Park]]
| status = VU
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |title=''Rhinoceros unicornis'' |name-list-style=amp |author=Ellis, S. |author2=Talukdar, B. |year=2019 |article-number=e.T19496A18494149 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2019-3.RLTS.T19496A18494149.en |access-date=16 January 2022}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A1
| status2_system = CITES
| status2_ref = <ref name="iucn" />
| genus = Rhinoceros
| species = unicornis
| authority = [[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]]
| range_map = Rhinoceros-unicornis-map.jpg
| range_map_caption = Indian rhinoceros historical range
}}

The '''Indian rhinoceros''' ('''''Rhinoceros unicornis'''''), also known as the '''greater one-horned rhinoceros''', '''great Indian rhinoceros''' or '''Indian rhino''', is a [[rhinoceros]] species native to the [[Indian subcontinent]]. It is the second largest living rhinoceros and the largest in Asia, with adult males weighing {{cvt|2.07–2.2|t}} and adult females {{cvt|1.6|t}}. Its thick skin is grey-brown with pinkish skin folds. It has a single horn on its snout that grows up to {{cvt|57.2|-|61.6|cm}} long. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps, and it is nearly hairless aside from the eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush.

The Indian rhinoceros occurs in the [[Indo-Gangetic Plain]] in 12 [[protected area]]s in northern [[India]] and southern [[Nepal]]. It is a [[Grazing (behaviour)|grazer]], eating mainly grass, but also twigs, leaves, branches, shrubs, flowers, fruits and aquatic plants. It is a largely [[solitary animal]], only associating in the [[breeding season]] and when rearing calves. Females give birth to a single calf after a [[gestation]] of 15.7 months. The birth interval is 34–51 months. Captive individuals can live up to 47 years. It is susceptible to diseases such as [[anthrax]], and those caused by parasites such as [[leeches]], [[ticks]] and [[nematodes]].

The Indian rhinoceros is listed as [[vulnerable species|Vulnerable]] on the [[IUCN Red List]], as the population is fragmented and restricted to less than {{cvt|20000|km2}}. Excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced its range drastically. In the early 1990s, the global population was estimated at between 1,870 and 1,895 individuals. Since then, the population increased due to conservation measures taken by the governments. As of March 2025, it was estimated to comprise 4,075 individuals.<ref name="RajatGhai25"/> However, poaching remains a continuous threat.

== Taxonomy ==
''Rhinoceros unicornis'' was the [[scientific name]] used by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758 who [[Scientific description|described]] a rhinoceros with one horn. As [[Type (biology)#type locality|type locality]], he indicated Africa and India. He described two species in India, the other being ''Rhinoceros bicornis'', and stated that the Indian species had two horns, while the African species had only one.<ref name="linné">{{cite book |author=Linnæus, C. |year=1758 |chapter-url=https://gdz.sub.uni-goettingen.de/id/PPN362053006?tify={%22pages%22:[60],%22view%22:%22info%22} |chapter=''Rhinoceros unicornis'' |title=Caroli Linnæi Systema naturæ per regna tria naturæ, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis |publisher=Salvius |location=Holmiae |page=56}}</ref>

The Indian rhinoceros is a single [[species]]. Several specimens were described since the end of the 18th century under different [[scientific names]], which are all considered [[Synonym (taxonomy)|synonym]]s of ''Rhinoceros unicornis'' today:<ref>Srinivasulu, C., Srinivasulu, B. (2012). [http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/134/1342090550.pdf "Chapter 3: Checklist of South Asian Mammals"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130521113921/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/134/1342090550.pdf |date=21 May 2013 }} in: ''South Asian Mammals: Their Diversity, Distribution, and Status''. Springer, New York, Heidelberg, London.</ref>

* ''R. indicus'' by [[Georges Cuvier|Cuvier]], 1817
* ''R. asiaticus'' by [[Johann Friedrich Blumenbach|Blumenbach]], 1830
* ''R. stenocephalus'' by [[John Edward Gray|Gray]], 1867
* ''R. jamrachi'' by [[Philip Sclater|Sclater]], 1876
* ''R. bengalensis'' by Kourist, 1970<ref name=MSW3>{{MSW3 Perissodactyla |id=14100071 |page=636}}</ref>

=== Etymology ===
The [[Genus|generic name]] ''rhinoceros'' is derived through Latin from the {{langx|grc|ῥινόκερως}}, which is composed of {{lang|grc|[[wikt:ῥίς#Ancient Greek|ῥινο-]]}} (''rhino-'', "of the nose") and {{lang|grc|[[wikt:κέρας#Ancient Greek|κέρας]]}} (''keras'', "[[horn (anatomy)|horn]]") with a horn on the nose.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-04 |title=Definition of RHINOCEROS |url=https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/rhinoceros |access-date=2024-02-12 |website=merriam-webster.com |language=en}}</ref> The name has been in use since the 14th century.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |last1=Liddell, H. G. |last2=Scott, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1940 |chapter=ῥίς |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dr(i%2Fs |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=4 June 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230604111959/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dr(i%2Fs |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name=":2">{{cite book |last1=Liddell, H. G. |last2=Scott, R. |name-list-style=amp |year=1940 |chapter=κέρᾳ |chapter-url=https://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus%3Atext%3A1999.04.0057%3Aentry%3Dke%2Fras |title=A Greek-English Lexicon |edition=Revised and augmented |location=Oxford |publisher=Clarendon Press |access-date=20 February 2021 |archive-date=8 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121008220111/http://www.perseus.tufts.edu/hopper/text?doc=Perseus:text:1999.04.0057:entry=ke%2Fras |url-status=live }}</ref> The [[Latin]] word ''ūnicornis'' means "one-horned".<ref name=":1">{{cite book |author=Partridge, E. |year=1983 |title=Origins: a Short Etymological Dictionary of Modern English |location=New York |publisher=Greenwich House |isbn=0-517-41425-2 |chapter=ūnicornis |page=296}}</ref>

=== Evolution ===
{{Main|Rhinoceros#Evolution}}
Ancestral rhinoceroses first diverged from other [[perissodactyl]]s in the [[Early Eocene]]. Mitochondrial DNA comparison suggests the ancestors of modern rhinos split from the ancestors of [[Equidae]] around 50 million years ago.<ref name="DNA">{{Cite journal |author=Xu, X. |author2=Janke, A. |author3=Arnason, U. |name-list-style=amp |year=1996 |title=The Complete Mitochondrial DNA Sequence of the Greater Indian Rhinoceros, ''Rhinoceros unicornis'', and the Phylogenetic Relationship Among Carnivora, Perissodactyla, and Artiodactyla (+ Cetacea) |journal=Molecular Biology and Evolution |volume=13 |issue=9 |pages=1167–1173 |doi=10.1093/oxfordjournals.molbev.a025681 |pmid=8896369 |doi-access=}}</ref> The extant family, the Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the [[Late Eocene]] in [[Eurasia]], and the ancestors of the extant rhino species dispersed from Asia beginning in the [[Miocene]].<ref name=Lacombat>{{Cite book |author=Lacombat, F. |chapter=The evolution of the rhinoceros |pages=46–49 |date=2005 |title=Save the Rhinos: EAZA Rhino Campaign 2005/6 |editor=Fulconis, R. |publisher=European Association of Zoos and Aquaria |location=London |chapter-url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175860259.pdf |access-date=24 July 2020 |archive-date=24 September 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210924053433/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/117/1175860259.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> The last common ancestor of living rhinoceroses belonging to the subfamily Rhinocerotinae is suggested to have lived around 16 million years ago, with the ancestors of the genus ''[[Rhinoceros (genus)|Rhinoceros]]'' diverging from the ancestors of other living rhinoceroses around 15 million years ago. The genus ''Rhinoceros'' has been found to be overall slightly more closely related to the [[Sumatran rhinoceros]] (as well as to the extinct [[woolly rhinoceros]] and the extinct Eurasian genus ''[[Stephanorhinus]]'') than to living African rhinoceroses, though there appears to have been [[gene flow]] between the ancestors of living African rhinoceroses and the genus ''Rhinoceros'', as well as between the ancestors of the genus ''Rhinoceros'' and the ancestors of the woolly rhinoceros and ''Stephanorhinus''.<ref name=":4" />

A [[cladogram]] showing the relationships of recent and Late Pleistocene rhinoceros species (minus ''[[Stephanorhinus hemitoechus]])'' based on whole nuclear genomes, after Liu et al., 2021:<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Shanlin |last2=Westbury |first2=Michael V. |last3=Dussex |first3=Nicolas |last4=Mitchell |first4=Kieren J. |last5=Sinding |first5=Mikkel-Holger S. |last6=Heintzman |first6=Peter D. |last7=Duchêne |first7=David A. |last8=Kapp |first8=Joshua D. |last9=von Seth |first9=Johanna |last10=Heiniger |first10=Holly |last11=Sánchez-Barreiro |first11=Fátima |date=24 August 2021 |title=Ancient and modern genomes unravel the evolutionary history of the rhinoceros family |journal=Cell |volume=184 |issue=19 |pages=4874–4885.e16 |doi=10.1016/j.cell.2021.07.032 |issn=0092-8674 |pmid=34433011 |doi-access=free |hdl-access=free |hdl=10230/48693}}</ref>

{{clade|{{clade
|label1=Elasmotheriinae
|1={{extinct}}''[[Elasmotherium sibiricum]]''
|label2=Rhinocerotinae
|2={{clade
|1={{clade
|1=[[White Rhinoceros]] (''Ceratotherium simum'')
|2=[[Black rhinoceros]] (''Diceros bicornis'')
}}
|2={{clade
|label1=
|1={{clade
|1={{clade
|1={{extinct}} [[Woolly rhinoceros]] (''Coelodonta antiquitatis'')
|2={{extinct}} [[Merck's rhinoceros]] (''Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis'')
}}
|2=[[Sumatran rhinoceros]] (''Dicerorhinus sumatrensis'')
}}
|label2=
|2={{clade
|1=[[Javan rhinoceros]] (''Rhinoceros sondaicus'')
|2=Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'')
}}

}}
}}
}}|style=font-size:100%;line-height:80%}}The earliest fossils of the genus ''Rhinoceros'' date to the Late Miocene, around 8–9 million years ago.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Longuet |first1=Morgane |last2=Zin-Maung-Maung-Thein |last3=Thaung-Htike |last4=Man-Thit-Nyein |last5=Takai |first5=Masanaru |date=2024-08-02 |title=New fossil remains of Rhinocerotidae (Perissodactyla) from the early Late Miocene Tebingan area, central Myanmar |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/08912963.2023.2218873 |journal=Historical Biology |language=en |volume=36 |issue=8 |pages=1468–1481 |doi=10.1080/08912963.2023.2218873 |bibcode=2024HBio...36.1468L |issn=0891-2963|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The divergence between the Indian and [[Javan rhinoceros]] is estimated to have occurred around 4.3 million years ago.<ref name=":4" /> The earliest representatives of the modern Indian rhinoceros appeared during the Early Pleistocene (2.6-0.8 million years ago). Fossils indicate that the Indian rhinoceros during the Pleistocene also inhabited areas considerably further east of its current distribution, including mainland Southeast Asia, South China and the island of Java, Indonesia.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Antoine |first=P.-O. |year=2012|title=Pleistocene and Holocene rhinocerotids (Mammalia, Perissodactyla) from the Indochinese Peninsula|journal=Comptes Rendus Palevol |volume=11 |issue=2–3 |pages=159–168 |doi=10.1016/j.crpv.2011.03.002|bibcode=2012CRPal..11..159A }}</ref> They also appear to have ranged as far south as [[Tamil Nadu]] in India, based on [[subfossil]] remains as recent as the [[Neolithic]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book|last=Rookmaaker |first=Kees |date=2024 |title=The Discovery of the Fossil Record of Rhinoceros in South Asia |url=https://brill.com/view/book/9789004691544/BP000022.xml|doi=10.1163/9789004691544_009}}</ref> A [[Late Pleistocene]]-aged partial fossil skeleton of ''R. unicornis'' was described from [[Kanchanaburi province|Kanchanaburi]], Thailand in 2018.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Filoux |first=Arnaud |last2=Suteethorn |first2=Varavudh |date=2018-02-01 |title=A late Pleistocene skeleton of Rhinoceros unicornis (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from western part of Thailand (Kanchanaburi Province) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0016699517301055 |journal=Geobios |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=31–49 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2017.12.003 |issn=0016-6995|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

Several fossil ''Rhinoceros'' species from South Asia, such as ''R. palaeindicus'' & ''R. sivalensis'' (from the [[Late Pliocene]] or [[early Pleistocene]] of [[Nahan]]), ''R. deccanensis'' (from the [[Pleistocene]] of [[Karnataka]]) and ''R. namadicus'' (from the Pleistocene of [[Madhya Pradesh]]) are potentially synonymous with ''R. unicornis''.<ref name=":5" />

== Characteristics ==
The Indian rhinoceros has a thick grey-brown skin with pinkish skin folds and one [[horn (anatomy)|horn]] on its snout. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. It has very little body hair, aside from eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush. Bulls have huge neck folds. The [[skull]] is heavy with a basal length above {{cvt|60|cm}} and an [[occiput]] above {{cvt|19|cm}}. The nasal horn is slightly back-curved with a base of about {{cvt|18.5|cm}} by {{cvt|12|cm}} that rapidly narrows until a smooth, even stem part begins about {{cvt|55|mm}} above base. In captive animals, the horn is frequently worn down to a thick knob.<ref name=Laurie1983>{{Cite journal |author=Laurie, W. A. |author2=Lang, E. M. |author3=Groves, C. P. |year=1983 |title=''Rhinoceros unicornis'' |journal=[[Mammalian Species]] |issue=211 |pages =1–6 |url = http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-211-01-0001.pdf |doi=10.2307/3504002 |jstor=3504002 |publisher = American Society of Mammalogists|s2cid=253915386 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629025307/http://www.science.smith.edu/msi/pdf/i0076-3519-211-01-0001.pdf |archive-date=29 June 2017}}</ref> The Indian rhino's single horn is present in both bulls and cows, but not on newborn calves. The horn consists of pure [[keratin]] and starts to show after about six years. In most adults, the horn reaches a length of about {{cvt|25|cm}}, but has been recorded up to {{cvt|57.2|cm}} to {{cvt|61.6|cm}} in length and {{cvt|3.051|kg}} in weight.<ref name=Laurie1983/><ref name="dinerstein03">{{Cite book |title=The Return of the Unicorns: The Natural History and Conservation of the Greater One-Horned Rhinoceros |author=Dinerstein, E. |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |location=New York |year=2003 |isbn=0-231-08450-1}}</ref><ref name=Rookmaaker2020/>

The bull has a head and body length of {{cvt|368|-|380|cm|ft}}, a shoulder height of {{cvt|163|-|193|cm}} and averages about {{cvt|2070|-|2200|kg|lb|-1}}; the cow has a head and body length of {{cvt|310|-|340|cm|ft}}, a shoulder height of {{cvt|147|-|173|cm}} and weighs about {{cvt|1600|kg|lb|-1}}.<ref name=Laurie1983/><ref name="Macdonald, D. 20012">{{Cite book |author=Macdonald, D. |title=The New Encyclopedia of Mammals |publisher=Oxford University Press |year=2001 |isbn=0-19-850823-9 |location=Oxford}}</ref> The largest individuals reportedly measured up to {{cvt|436|cm|ft}} in body length, {{cvt|206|cm}} in shoulder height and weigh up to {{cvt|4000|kg|lb|-1}}.<ref name=Rookmaaker2020>{{cite journal |author=Rookmaaker, K. |year=2020 |title=The maximum size of the Greater one-horned rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') |journal=Pachyderm |volume=61 |pages=184-190 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/346531155}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |author=Boitani, L. |year=1984 |title=Simon & Schuster's Guide to Mammals |publisher=Simon & Schuster, Touchstone Books |isbn=978-0-671-42805-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/simonschustersgu00boit |url-access=registration}}</ref><ref name="Panigrahi, G. K." /> Among terrestrial land mammals native to Asia, the Indian rhinoceros is the second-largest living rhinoceros, after the [[white rhinoceros]]. It is the second in size only to the [[Asian elephant]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Harris |first=T. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MKJ-DwAAQBAJ&dq=Second+largest+land+mammal+in+Asia&pg=PA106 |title=The Encyclopedia of Animals: More than 1,000 Illustrations and Photographs |date=2018 |publisher=Book Sales |isbn=978-0-7858-3646-9 |page=106 |access-date=19 February 2023 |archive-date=7 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231107194316/https://books.google.com/books?id=MKJ-DwAAQBAJ&dq=Second+largest+land+mammal+in+Asia&pg=PA106 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The rich presence of blood vessels underneath the tissues in folds gives them the pinkish colour. The folds in the skin increase the surface area and help in regulating the body temperature.<ref name=Attenborough14>{{cite AV media |author=Attenborough, D. | author-link=David Attenborough |title=Attenborough's Natural Curiosities 2 | volume=Armoured Animals | year=2014 | publisher=UKTV}}</ref> The thick skin does not protect against bloodsucking ''[[Tabanus]]'' flies, [[leech]]es and [[ticks]].<ref name=Laurie1983/>
<gallery>
File:Rhino Kaziranga Assam.jpg|Indian rhinoceros at [[Kaziranga National Park]]
File:Rhinoceros unicornis (posterior).jpg|Wart-like bumps on the hind legs
File:One Horned Rhino With Jungle Myna.jpg|The Indian rhinoceros's single horn
File:Rhinoceros unicornis 6zz.jpg|The skull of an Indian rhinoceros

</gallery>

==Distribution and habitat==
{{owidslider |start=2021 |list=Template:OWID/Indian rhinos#gallery |location=commons |caption= |title= |file=[[File:indian rhinos, World, 2021 (cropped).svg |link= |thumb |upright=1.6 |right |Indian rhino population]] |startingView=World}}
Indian rhinos once ranged across the entire northern part of the [[Indian subcontinent]], along the [[Indus River|Indus]], [[Ganges Plain|Ganges]] and [[Brahmaputra River]] basins, from [[Pakistan]] to the Indian-[[Myanmar]] border, including [[Bangladesh]] and the southern parts of [[Nepal]] and [[Bhutan]]. They may have also occurred in Myanmar, southern China and [[Indochina]]. They inhabit the [[alluvial]] [[Terai-Duar savanna and grasslands|grasslands of the Terai]] and the Brahmaputra basin.<ref name="foose1997">{{Cite book |author1=Foose, T. |author2=van Strien, N. |name-list-style=amp |year=1997 |title=Asian Rhinos – Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan |publisher=IUCN |location=Gland, Switzerland, and Cambridge, UK |isbn=2-8317-0336-0 |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1175857641.pdf |access-date=5 December 2010 |archive-date=15 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110715183120/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1175857641.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes its range has gradually been reduced so that by the 19th century, it only survived in the [[Terai]] grasslands of southern [[Nepal]], northern [[Uttar Pradesh]], northern [[Bihar]], northern [[West Bengal]], and in the [[Brahmaputra Valley]] of [[Assam]].<ref name="choudhury1985">{{cite journal |author=Choudhury, A. U. |year=1985 |title=Distribution of Indian one-horned rhinoceros |volume=12 |issue=2 |pages=25–30 |journal=Tiger Paper |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=ref_detail&id=1165235391 |access-date=29 July 2017 |archive-date=30 July 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170730071314/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=refs&CODE=ref_detail&id=1165235391 |url-status=live}}</ref>

During the [[Late Pleistocene]], its range extended into Thailand, Vietnam and Laos, and remains of rhinoceroses found in the Pleistocene of southern China, otherwise assigned to the species "''Rhinoceros sinensis''", may actually represent the Indian rhinoceros.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Filoux |first1=A. |last2=Suteethorn |first2=V. |date=2018 |title=A late Pleistocene skeleton of ''Rhinoceros unicornis'' (Mammalia, Rhinocerotidae) from western part of Thailand (Kanchanaburi Province) |journal=Geobios |volume=51 |issue=1 |pages=31–49 |doi=10.1016/j.geobios.2017.12.003 |bibcode=2018Geobi..51...31F}}</ref>
It was present in northern Bihar and [[Oudh State|Oudh]] at least until 1770 as indicated in maps produced by [[Jean Baptiste Joseph Gentil|Colonel Gentil]].<ref>{{cite journal |title=Three rhinos on maps of India drawn in Faizabad in the 18th century |author=Rookmaaker, K. |journal=Pachyderm |year=2014 |volume=55 |pages=95–96 |issue=55 |doi=10.69649/pachyderm.v55i.359 |url=http://www.pachydermjournal.org/index.php/pachy/article/viewFile/339/250 |access-date=6 May 2016 |archive-date=4 June 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160604141157/http://www.pachydermjournal.org/index.php/pachy/article/viewFile/339/250 |url-status=live |doi-access=free }}</ref> On the former abundance of the species, [[Thomas C. Jerdon]] wrote in 1867:<ref>{{cite book |author=Jerdon, T. C. |year=1867 |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.222640 |title=The Mammals of India: a Natural History of all the animals known to inhabit Continental India |publisher=Thomason College Press |location=Roorkee|pages=232–235}}</ref>

{{blockquote|This huge rhinoceros is found in the Terai at the foot of the Himalayas, from Bhutan to Nepal. It is more common in the eastern portion of the Terai than the west, and is most abundant in Assam and the Bhutan Dooars. I have heard from sportsmen of its occurrence as far west as Rohilcund, but it is certainly rare there now, and indeed along the greater part of the Nepal Terai; ... Jelpigoree, a small military station near the Teesta River, was a favourite locality whence to hunt the Rhinoceros and it was from that station Captain Fortescue ... got his skulls, which were ... the first that Mr. Blyth had seen of this species, ...}}

Today, its range has further shrunk to a few pockets in southern Nepal, northern West Bengal, and the Brahmaputra Valley. Its habitat is surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that in many areas, it occurs in cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests. In the 1980s, Indian rhinos were frequently seen in the narrow plain area of [[Manas River]] and [[Royal Manas National Park]] in Bhutan.<ref name=choudhury1985/>

=== Populations ===
[[File:Indian rhinoceros, with cattle egret & black-necked stork in background, in Kaziranga National Park.jpg|thumb|Kaziranga National Park]]
[[File:Indian One Horned Rhino.jpg|thumb|Indian rhinoceros in Manas National Park, Assam]]
[[File:Rhino at Jaldapara.jpg|thumb|Rhino at Jaldapara National Park, West Bengal]]
[[File:An introduced rhino in Dudhwa TR AJTJohnsingh IMG 5776.jpg|thumb|Rhino in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar Pradesh]]
In 2022, the total Indian rhinoceros population was estimated to be 4,014 individuals, up from 2,577 in 2006. Among them, 3,262 are in India and the remaining 752 are in Nepal and Bhutan. There is no permanent rhino population in Bhutan, but small rhino populations are occasionally known to cross from the [[Manas National Park]] or [[Buxa Tiger Reserve]] in India.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Karmakar |first=R. |date=2019 |title=Rhinos without borders is conservation credo |work=The Hindu |url=https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/rhinos-without-borders-is-conservation-credo/article26400633.ece |access-date=2023-08-26 |archive-date=26 August 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230826093313/https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/rhinos-without-borders-is-conservation-credo/article26400633.ece |url-status=live}}</ref>

As of 2008, there were around 2,885 individuals in [[Assam]] including 2,613 in [[Kaziranga National Park]], 125 in [[Orang National Park]], 107 in [[Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary]] and 40 in [[Manas National Park]]. [[West Bengal]] had a population of 339 individuals, including 287 in [[Jaldapara National Park]] and 52 in [[Gorumara National Park]]. Only 38 individuals lived in [[Dudhwa National Park]].<ref name=arsg07>{{cite report |author1=Syangden, B. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Sectionov |author3=Ellis, S. |author4=Williams, A.C. |author5=Strien, N.J.v. |author6=Talukdar, B.K. |year=2008 |title=Report on the regional meeting for India and Nepal IUCN/SSC Asian Rhino Species Group (AsRSG), March 5–7, 2007 Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India |publisher=Asian Rhino Specialist Group |location=Kaziranga |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1223282785.pdf |access-date=23 March 2011 |archive-date=15 September 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190915165659/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/ref_files/1223282785.pdf |url-status=live}}</ref>

By 2014, the population in Assam increased to 2,544 Indian rhinos, an increase of 27% since 2006, although more than 150 individuals were killed by poachers during these years.<ref name=rhinas1>{{cite news |author=Hance, J. |year=2014 |url=http://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/despite-poaching-indian-rhino-population-jumps-by-27-percent-in-eight-years/ |title=Despite poaching, Indian rhino population jumps by 27 percent in eight years |website=Mongabay |access-date=15 September 2015 |archive-date=4 March 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304110251/http://news.mongabay.com/2014/06/despite-poaching-indian-rhino-population-jumps-by-27-percent-in-eight-years/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
The population in Kaziranga National Park was estimated at 2,048 individuals in 2009.<ref name=kazir1>{{cite book |author1=Medhi, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Saha, A. K.|date=2014 |chapter=Land Cover Change and Rhino Habitat Mapping of Kaziranga National Park, Assam |pages=125–138 |editor=Singh, M. |editor2=Singh, R. B. |editor3=Hassan, M. I. |title=Climate Change and Biodiversity. Proceedings of IGU Rohtak Conference |volume=1, Part II |publisher=Springer Japan}}</ref> By 2009, the population in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary had increased to 84 individuals in an area of {{cvt|38.80|km2}}.<ref name=sarma2009>{{cite journal |author1=Sarma, P. K. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Talukdar, B. K. |author3=Sarma, K. |author4=Barua, M. |year=2009 |title=Assessment of habitat change and threats to the greater one-horned rhino (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') in Pabitora Wildlife Sanctuary, Assam, using multi-temporal satellite data |journal=Pachyderm |volume=46 |issue=July–December |pages=18–24 |doi=10.69649/pachyderm.v46i.194 |doi-access=free}}</ref>

[[File:One-horned Rhinoceros at Chitwan National Park.jpg|thumb|upright|Indian rhinoceros in Chitwan National Park, Nepal]]
In 2015, Nepal had 645 Indian rhinos living in [[Parsa National Park]], [[Chitwan National Park]], [[Bardia National Park]], [[Shuklaphanta National Park]] and respective buffer zones in the [[Terai Arc Landscape]] as recorded in a survey conducted from 11 April to 2 May 2015. The survey showed that the population of rhinos in Nepal from 2011 to 2015 increased 21% or 111 individuals.<ref name=neprin1>{{Cite web |title=Nepal achieves 21% increase in rhino numbers|url=https://www.wwfnepal.org/?246012/Nepal-achieves-21-increase-in-rhino-numbers |access-date=19 February 2023|work=WWF Nepal |date=2015 |archive-date=19 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219184719/https://www.wwfnepal.org/?246012/Nepal-achieves-21-increase-in-rhino-numbers|url-status=live}}</ref>

The Indian rhino population, which once numbered as low as 100 individuals in the early 1900s, has increased to more than 3,700 as of 2021.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2020 |title=State of the Rhino |work=International Rhino Foundation |url=https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/state-of-the-rhino/ |access-date=20 September 2021 |archive-date=21 September 2021 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210921122235/https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/state-of-the-rhino/}}</ref> According to a population census conducted in late March 2025, the estimated population is 4,075, with 3,323 in India and 752 in Nepal.<ref name=RajatGhai25>{{Cite web |last=Rajat |first=G. |title=IUCN-TRAFFIC report praises ‘strengthened monitoring and surveillance’ for protecting India and Nepal’s rhinos from poaching |url=https://www.downtoearth.org.in/wildlife-biodiversity/iucn-traffic-report-praises-strengthened-monitoring-and-surveillance-for-protecting-india-and-nepals-rhinos-from-poaching |date=2025 |work=Down To Earth |access-date=14 October 2025}}</ref>

== Ecology and behaviour ==
Bulls are usually solitary. Groups consist of cows with calves, or of up to six subadults. Such groups congregate at wallows and grazing areas. They are foremost active in early mornings, late afternoons and at night, but rest during hot days.<ref name=Laurie1983/>
They bathe regularly. The folds in their skin trap water and hold it even when they exit wallows.<ref name=Attenborough14/> They are excellent swimmers and can run at speeds of up to {{cvt|55|km/h}} for short periods. They have excellent senses of hearing and smell, but relatively poor eyesight. Over 10 distinct [[Animal communication|vocalisations]] have been recorded. Males have home ranges of around {{cvt|2|to|8|km2}} that overlap each other. Dominant males tolerate other males passing through their territories except when they are in mating season, when dangerous fights break out.<ref name="Panigrahi, G. K.">{{Cite book |last1=Padhi |first1=S. |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=K3MpDAAAQBAJ&dq=Can+the+Indian+rhinoceros+run+at+34+mph&pg=PA38 |title=Wild Animals Of India |last2=Panda |first2=S. |last3=Panigrahi |first3=G. K. |date=2016 |publisher=Anchor Academic Publishing |isbn=978-3-96067-014-8 |access-date=19 February 2023 |archive-date=19 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230319112825/https://books.google.com/books?id=K3MpDAAAQBAJ&dq=Can+the+Indian+rhinoceros+run+at+34+mph&pg=PA38 |url-status=live|page=38}}</ref>

Indian rhinos have few natural enemies, except for tigers, which sometimes kill unguarded calves, but adult rhinos are less vulnerable due to their size. [[Mynah]]s and [[egret]]s both eat invertebrates from the rhino's skin and around its feet. ''Tabanus'' flies, a type of [[horse-fly]], are known to bite rhinos. The rhinos are also vulnerable to diseases spread by parasites such as [[leech]]es, [[tick]]s, [[nematode]]s<ref name=Laurie1983/> and [[flatworm]]s like ''[[Bivitellobilharzia nairi]]''.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Devcota |first1=R. |last2=Brant |first2=S.V. |last3=Thapa |first3=A. |last4=Loker |first4=E.S. |title=Sharing schistosomes: the elephant schistosome ''Bivitellobilharzia nairi'' also infects the greater one-horned rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') in Chitwan National Park, Nepal |journal=Journal of Helminthology |volume=88 |year=2014 |issue=1 |pages=32–40 |doi=10.1017/S0022149X12000697 |pmid=23113960}}</ref>
[[Anthrax]] and the blood-disease [[sepsis]] are known to occur.<ref name=Laurie1983/>

In March 2017, a group of four tigers consisting of an adult male, tigress and two cubs killed a 20-year-old male Indian rhinoceros in [[Dudhwa Tiger Reserve]].<ref>{{Cite web |work=Tribune News Service |title=Tigers kill rhino in Dudhwa Tiger Reserve |url=https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/nation/tigers-kill-rhino-in-dudhwa-tiger-reserve-372612 |access-date=19 February 2023 |archive-date=19 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230219184715/https://www.tribuneindia.com/news/archive/nation/tigers-kill-rhino-in-dudhwa-tiger-reserve-372612 |url-status=live}}</ref> Such cases are rare, as Indian rhinoceroses are not vulnerable to predation.<ref name=":3" /><ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Saikia |first1=M. |last2=Maiti |first2=A. P. |last3=Devi |first3=A. |date=2020 |title=Effect of habitat complexity on rhinoceros and tiger population model with additional food and poaching in Kaziranga National Park, Assam |journal=Mathematics and Computers in Simulation |volume=177 |pages=169–191 |doi=10.1016/j.matcom.2020.04.007 |s2cid=219043948}}</ref>

=== Diet ===
[[File:Rhiono and elephant.jpg|thumb|Rhino and elephant grazing]]
The Indian rhino is a [[Grazing|grazer]]. Its diet consists almost entirely of grasses (such as ''[[Arundo donax]]'', ''[[Bambusa tulda]]'', ''[[Cynodon dactylon]]'', and ''[[Oryza sativa]]''), but it also eat leaves, twigs and branches of shrubs and trees such as ''[[Lagerstroemia indica]]'', flowers, fruits such as ''[[Ficus religiosa]]'', and submerged and floating [[aquatic plant]]s.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rhinoceros_unicornis/ | title=Rhinoceros unicornis (Indian rhinoceros) |website=[[Animal Diversity Web]] | access-date=21 May 2023 | archive-date=5 October 2021 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211005105244/https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Rhinoceros_unicornis/ |url-status=live}}</ref>
It feeds in the mornings and evenings. It uses its semi-prehensile lip to grasp grass stems, bend the stem down, bite off the top, and then eat the grass. It tackles very tall grasses or saplings by walking over the plant, with legs on both sides and using the weight of its body to push the end of the plant down to the level of the mouth. Mothers also use this technique to make food edible for their calves. They drink for a minute or two at a time, often imbibing water filled with rhinoceros urine.<ref name=Laurie1983/>

=== Social life ===
[[File:Kaziranga-National-Park-in-Assam.webp|thumb|Rhino in Kaziranga National Park]]
[[File:Aggressive Kaziranga rhino.jpg|thumb|Indian rhinoceros showing its sharp lower incisor teeth used for fighting]]
Indian rhinos form a variety of social groupings. Bulls are generally solitary, except for mating and fighting. Cows are largely solitary when they are without calves.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Tripathi |first=A. |date=2013 |title=Social and reproductive behaviour of Great Indian One-horned Rhino, ''Rhinoceros unicornis'' in Dudhwa National Park, U.P., India |journal=International Journal of Pharmacy and Life Science |volume=4 |issue=11 |pages=3116–3121|s2cid=130636556}}</ref> Mothers will stay close to their calves for up to four years after their birth, sometimes allowing an older calf to continue to accompany her once a newborn calf arrives. Subadult bulls and cows form consistent groupings, as well.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Laurie |first=A. |date=1982 |title=Behavioural ecology of the Greater one-horned rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') |journal=Journal of Zoology |volume=196 |issue=3 |pages=307–341 |doi=10.1111/j.1469-7998.1982.tb03506.x}}</ref> Groups of two or three young bulls often form on the edge of the home ranges of dominant bulls, presumably for protection in numbers. Young cows are slightly less social than the bulls. Indian rhinos also form short-term groupings, particularly at forest wallows during the [[monsoon season]] and in grasslands during March and April. Groups of up to 10 rhinos, typically a dominant male with females and calves, gather in wallows.<ref name="dinerstein03"/>

Indian rhinos make a wide variety of vocalisations. At least 10 distinct vocalisations have been identified: snorting, honking, bleating, roaring, squeak-panting, moo-grunting, shrieking, groaning, rumbling and humphing. In addition to noises, the Indian rhino uses [[olfactory communication]]. Adult bulls urinate backwards, as far as {{cvt|3|-|4|m}} behind them, often in response to being disturbed by observers. Like all rhinos, the Indian rhinoceros often defecates near other large dung piles. The Indian rhino has pedal scent glands which are used to mark their presence at these rhino latrines. Bulls have been observed walking with their heads to the ground as if sniffing, presumably following the scent of cows.<ref name="dinerstein03"/>

In aggregations, Indian rhinos are often friendly. They will often greet each other by waving or bobbing their heads, mounting flanks, nuzzling noses, or licking. Indian rhinos will playfully spar, run around, and play with twigs in their mouths. Adult bulls are the primary instigators in fights. Fights between dominant bulls are the most common cause of rhino mortality, and bulls are also very aggressive toward cows during courtship. Bulls chase cows over long distances and even attack them face-to-face. Indian rhinos use their horns for fighting, albeit less frequently than African rhinos, largely using the incisors of the lower jaw to inflict wounds.<ref name="dinerstein03"/>

=== Reproduction ===
[[File:One horned rhino with a baby in Kaziranga National Park, Assam.jpg|thumb|Indian rhino cow with calf]]
Captive bulls breed at five years of age, but wild bulls attain dominance much later when they are larger. In one five-year field study, only one Indian rhino estimated to be younger than 15 years mated successfully. Captive cows breed as young as four years of age, but in the wild, they usually start breeding only when six years old, which likely indicates they need to be large enough to avoid being killed by aggressive bulls.<ref name="dinerstein03"/> In the wild, females reach full maturity at about 6.5 years, and males at about 10 years.<ref name=Laurie1983/> The [[ovarian cycle]] lasts 5.5 to 9 weeks on average.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Stoops |first1=M. A. |last2=Pairan |first2=R. D. |last3=Roth |first3=T. L. |date=2004 |title=Follicular, endocrine and behavioural dynamics of the Indian rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') oestrous cycle |url=https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/128/6/1280843.xml |journal=Reproduction |volume=128 |issue=6 |pages=843–856 |doi=10.1530/rep.1.00328 |pmid=15579602 |access-date=11 February 2024 |archive-date=20 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231120022336/https://rep.bioscientifica.com/view/journals/rep/128/6/1280843.xml |url-status=live }}</ref> Their [[gestation]] period is around 15.7 months, and birth interval ranges from 34 to 51 months.<ref name="dinerstein03"/> An estimated 10% of calves will die before maturity. This is mainly attributed to predatory attacks from [[tiger]]s (''Panthera tigris'').<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zschokke |first1=S. |date=1998 |first2=P. |last2=Studer|first3=B. |last3=Baur|title=Past and future breeding of the Indian rhinoceros in captivity |journal=International Zoo News |volume=45 |issue=5 |pages=261–276}}</ref> In captivity, four Indian rhinos lived over 40 years, the oldest living to be 47.<ref name=Laurie1983/><ref name="Panigrahi, G. K." />

== Threats ==

[[Habitat degradation]] caused by human activities and [[climate change]] as well as the resulting increase in the [[floods]] has caused many Indian rhino deaths and has limited their ranging areas which is shrinking.<ref name=iucn/>

Serious declines in quality of habitat have occurred in some areas, due to severe invasion by [[alien species|alien plants]] into grasslands affecting some populations, and demonstrated reductions in the extent of grasslands and wetland habitats due to woodland encroachment and silting up of [[beel]]s (swampy wetlands). Grazing by domestic livestock is another cause.<ref name=iucn/>

The Indian rhino species is inherently at risk because over 70% of its population occurs at a single site, Kaziranga National Park. Any catastrophic event such as disease, [[civil disorder]], poaching, or habitat loss would have a devastating impact on the Indian rhino's status. Additionally, a small population of rhinos may be prone to inbreeding depression.<ref name=iucn/>

=== Poaching ===
{{main | Rhino poaching in Assam}}
[[File:Indian Rhinoceros diorama.JPG|thumb|Taxidermied specimens, [[American Museum of Natural History]]]]
Sport hunting became common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and was the main cause for the decline of Indian rhinoceros populations. Indian rhinos were hunted relentlessly and persistently. Reports from the mid-19th century claim that some British military officers shot more than 200 rhinos in Assam alone. By 1908, the population in Kaziranga National Park had decreased to around 12 individuals.<ref name=Laurie1983/> In the early 1900s, the Indian rhinoceros was almost extinct. At present, [[poaching]] for the use of horn in [[traditional Chinese Medicine]] is one of the main threats that has led to decreases in several important populations.<ref name=iucn/> Poaching for the Indian rhino's horn became the single most important reason for the decline of the Indian rhinoceros after conservation measures were put in place from the beginning of the 20th century, when legal hunting ended. From 1980 to 1993, 692 rhinos were poached in India, including 41 rhinos in India's [[Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary]] in 1983, almost the entire population of the sanctuary.<ref name="menon1996">{{cite report |author=Menon, V. |year=1996 |url=http://www.traffic.org/species-reports/traffic_species_mammals46.pdf |title=Under siege: Poaching and protection of Greater One-horned Rhinoceroses in India |publisher=TRAFFIC India |access-date=7 December 2010 |archive-date=30 October 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121030155426/http://www.traffic.org/species-reports/traffic_species_mammals46.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> By the mid-1990s, the Indian rhinoceros had been [[extirpated]] in this sanctuary.<ref name="foose1997"/> Between 2000 and 2006, more than 150 rhinos were poached in Assam.<ref name=rhinas1/><ref>{{Cite news |date=2018-03-31 |title=Rhino census in India's Kaziranga park counts 12 more |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-asia-india-43606882 |access-date=2024-02-12 |language=en-GB}}</ref> Almost 100 rhinos were poached in India between 2013 and 2018.<ref name=reintr1/>
[[File:King George V Hunting in Nepal (19).jpg|alt=George V and Chandra Shumsher JBR with a slain rhino during a hunt (December 1911)|thumb|[[George V]] and [[Chandra Shumsher Jang Bahadur Rana|Chandra Shumsher JBR]] with a slain rhino during a hunt (December 1911)]]
In 1950, in Nepal the [[Chitwan Valley|Chitwan]]'s forest and grasslands extended over more than {{convert|2600|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}} and were home to about 800 rhinos. When poor farmers from the mid-hills moved to the Chitwan Valley in search of arable land, the area was subsequently opened for settlement, and [[poaching]] of wildlife became rampant. The Chitwan population has repeatedly been jeopardised by poaching; in 2002 alone, poachers killed 37 animals to saw off and sell their valuable horns.<ref name="adhikari">{{cite journal |author=Adhikari, T. R. |year=2002 |title=The curse of success |journal=Habitat Himalaya |volume=9 |issue=3 |pages=1–4 |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1175855985&folder=117 |access-date=6 February 2021 |archive-date=12 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220712072605/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/index.php?s=1&act=pdfviewer&id=1175855985&folder=117 |url-status=live }}</ref>

== Conservation ==
The Indian rhinoceros is listed as [[Vulnerable species|vulnerable]] by the [[IUCN Red List|IUCN Red list]], as of 2018.<ref name="iucn" /> Globally, ''R. unicornis'' has been listed in [[CITES Appendix I]] since 1975. The Indian and Nepalese governments have taken major steps towards Indian rhinoceros conservation, especially with the help of the [[World Wide Fund for Nature]] (WWF) and other non-governmental organisations.<ref name=iucn /> In 1910, all rhino hunting in India became prohibited.<ref name=Laurie1983/>

In 1957, the country's first conservation law ensured the protection of rhinos and their [[habitat]]. In 1959, [[Edward Pritchard Gee]] undertook a survey of the [[Chitwan Valley]], and recommended the creation of a protected area north of the [[East Rapti River|Rapti River]] and of a wildlife sanctuary south of the river for a trial period of 10 years.<ref>{{cite journal|author=Gee, E. P. |year=1959 |title=Report on a survey of the rhinoceros area of Nepal|journal=Oryx |volume=5|issue=2|pages= 67–76|doi=10.1017/S0030605300000326|doi-access=free}}</ref> After his subsequent survey of Chitwan in 1963, he recommended extension of the sanctuary to the south.<ref>{{cite journal |author=Gee, E. P. |year=1963 |title=Report on a brief survey of the wildlife resources of Nepal, including rhinoceros |journal= Oryx |volume=7 |pages=67–76 |doi=10.1017/S0030605300002416 |issue=2–3|doi-access=free }}</ref> By the end of the 1960s, only 95 rhinos remained in the Chitwan Valley. The dramatic decline of the rhino population and the extent of poaching prompted the government to institute the ''Gaida Gasti'' – a rhino reconnaissance patrol of 130 armed men and a network of guard posts all over Chitwan. To prevent the extinction of rhinos, the [[Chitwan National Park]] was gazetted in December 1970, with borders delineated the following year and established in 1973, initially encompassing an area of {{convert|544|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}. To ensure the survival of rhinos in case of epidemics, animals were translocated annually from Chitwan to [[Bardia National Park]] and [[Shuklaphanta National Park]] since 1986.<ref name="adhikari" />
The Indian rhinoceros population living in Chitwan and [[Parsa National Park]]s was estimated at 608 mature individuals in 2015.<ref name=":3">{{cite journal |author1=Pant, G. |author2=Maraseni, T. |author3=Apan, A. |author4=Allen, B.L. |name-list-style=amp |year=2020 |title=Climate change vulnerability of Asia's most iconic megaherbivore: greater one-horned rhinoceros (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') |journal=Global Ecology and Conservation |volume=23 |article-number=e01180 |doi=10.1016/j.gecco.2020.e01180|doi-access=free |bibcode=2020GEcoC..2301180P }}</ref>

=== Reintroduction to new areas ===
Indian rhinos have been reintroduced to areas where they had previously inhabited but became extinct. These efforts have produced mixed results, mainly due to lack of proper planning and management, sustained effort, and adequate security for the introduced animals.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Jhala |first1=Harshini Y. |last2=Qureshi |first2=Qamar |last3=Jhala |first3=Yadvendradev V. |last4=Black |first4=Simon A. |date=2021-02-24 |title=Feasibility of reintroducing grassland megaherbivores, the greater one-horned rhinoceros, and swamp buffalo within their historic global range |journal=Scientific Reports |language=en |volume=11 |issue=1 |page=4469 |doi=10.1038/s41598-021-83174-4 |pmid=33627691 |issn=2045-2322 |pmc=7904804 |bibcode=2021NatSR..11.4469J }}</ref>

In 1984, five Indian rhinos were relocated to [[Dudhwa National Park]]—four from the fields outside the [[Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary]] and one from Goalpara.<ref name="choudhury1985" /> This has borne results and the population has increased to 21 rhinos by 2006.<ref name="arsg07"/> In early 1980s, Laokhowa Wildlife Sanctuary in Assam had more than 70 Indian rhinos which were all killed by poachers. In 2016, two Indian rhinos, a mother and her daughter, were reintroduced to the sanctuary from Kaziranga National Park as part of the Indian Rhino Vision 2020 (IRV 2020) program, but both animals died within months due to natural causes.<ref name=reintr1>{{Cite web|date=9 September 2019|title=Who killed the wandering rhino in Assam?|url=https://india.mongabay.com/2019/09/who-killed-the-wandering-rhino-in-assam/|access-date=19 February 2023|website=Mongabay-India|language=en-US|archive-date=8 February 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230208034438/https://india.mongabay.com/2019/09/who-killed-the-wandering-rhino-in-assam/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Indian rhinos were once found as far west as the [[Peshawar]] Valley during the reign of [[Mughal empire|Mughal]] Emperor [[Babur]], but are now extinct in Pakistan. After rhinos became "regionally extinct" in Pakistan,<ref>{{cite book |author=Sheikh, K. M. |author2=Molur, S. |year=2004 |title=Status and Red List of Pakistan's Mammals. Based on the Conservation Assessment and Management Plan |publisher=IUCN Pakistan |url=http://www.zooreach.org/downloads/ZOO_CAMP_PHVA_reports/2003_CAMP_Pakistan_Mammals.pdf |access-date=23 March 2011 |archive-date=26 April 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130426073933/http://www.zooreach.org/downloads/ZOO_CAMP_PHVA_reports/2003_CAMP_Pakistan_Mammals.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref> two rhinos from Nepal were introduced in 1983 to [[Lal Suhanra National Park]], which have not bred so far.<ref name=iucn/><ref name="choudhury1985" />

=== In captivity ===
[[File:Zoo Basel Rhinos.JPG|thumb|Indian rhinoceroses enjoy bathing at [[Zoo Basel]]]]
Indian rhinoceroses were initially difficult to breed in captivity. In the second half of the 20th century, zoos became adept at breeding Indian rhinoceros. By 1983, nearly 40 babies had been born in captivity.<ref name=Laurie1983/> As of 2012, 33 Indian rhinos were born at [[Switzerland]]'s [[History of Zoo Basel|Zoo Basel]] alone,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://zoobasel.ch/de/aktuell/detail.php?NEWSID=563&apm=1_4&nof|title=Es ist ein Junge!|website=Zoo Basel|access-date=25 February 2013 |language=de|archive-date=24 June 2013|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130624103050/http://www.zoobasel.ch/de/aktuell/detail.php?NEWSID=563&apm=1_4&nof|url-status=live}}</ref> meaning that most captive animals are related to the [[Basel]] population. Due to the success of [[Breeding programs at Zoo Basel|Zoo Basel's breeding program]], the International [[Breed registry|Studbook]] for the species has been kept there since 1972. Since 1990, the Indian rhino [[European Endangered Species Programme]] is also being coordinated there, with the goal of maintaining genetic diversity in the global captive Indian rhinoceros population.<ref name=basel>{{cite web |url=http://www.zoobasel.ch/aktuell/detail.php?NEWSID=378 |title=Panzernashorngeburt im Zoo Basel |website=Zoo Basel |year=2010 |access-date=20 May 2011 |archive-date=7 July 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110707005908/http://www.zoobasel.ch/aktuell/detail.php?NEWSID=378 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Rinoceronte Valentina.jpg|thumb|The Indian Rhinoceros “Valentina” at the [[Parque de las Leyendas]]]]
The first recorded captive birth of an Indian rhinoceros was in [[Kathmandu]] in 1826, but another successful birth did not occur for nearly 100 years. In 1925, a rhino was born in [[Kolkata]]. No rhinoceros was successfully bred in Europe until 1956 when first European breeding took place when baby rhino Rudra was born in Zoo Basel on 14 September 1956.<ref name=Laurie1983/> In June 2009, an Indian rhino was [[artificial insemination|artificially inseminated]] using sperm collected four years previously and [[Cryopreservation|cryopreserved]] at the [[Cincinnati Zoo]]'s CryoBioBank before being thawed and used. She gave birth to a male calf in October 2010.<ref name=Patton>Patton, F. (2011) [http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/130/1304118500.pdf ''The Artificial Way''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120616214100/http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/pdf_files/130/1304118500.pdf |date=16 June 2012}}. Swara, (April–June 2011): 58–61.</ref> In June 2014, the first "successful" live-birth from an artificially inseminated rhino took place at the [[Buffalo Zoo]] in New York. As in Cincinnati, cryopreserved sperm was used to produce the female calf, Monica.<ref name=Miller>{{cite news |author=Miller, M. |year=2014 |url=http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/buffalo/baby-rhinoceros-makes-her-public-debut-at-buffalo-zoo-20140707 |title=Baby Rhinoceros Makes Her Public Debut at Buffalo Zoo |newspaper=The Buffalo News |access-date=9 August 2014 |archive-date=10 August 2014 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140810123018/http://www.buffalonews.com/city-region/buffalo/baby-rhinoceros-makes-her-public-debut-at-buffalo-zoo-20140707 |url-status=live}}</ref>

== Cultural significance ==
[[File:Shiva Pashupati.jpg|thumb|The Pashupati seal, showing a seated figure that is surrounded by animals, including the Indian rhinoceros ({{circa}} 2350–2000 BCE)]]
The Indian rhinoceros is one of the motifs on the [[Pashupati seal]] and many terracotta figurines that were excavated at archaeological sites of the [[Indus Valley Civilisation]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Konasukawa, A. |name-list-style=amp |author2=Koiso, M. |date=2018 |chapter=The size of Indus seals and its significance |title=Walking with the Unicorn: Social Organization and Material Culture in Ancient South Asia |editor=D. Frenez |editor2=G. M. Jamison |editor3=R. W. Law |editor4=M. Vidale |editor5=R. H. Meadow |isbn=978-1-78491-918-4 |location=Oxford |publisher=Archaeopress Publishing Ltd. |pages=292–317 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=hLETEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |access-date=8 February 2021 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110031522/https://books.google.com/books?id=hLETEAAAQBAJ&pg=PA299 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The [[Rhinoceros Sutra]] is an early text in the [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] tradition and is part of the [[Gandhāran Buddhist texts]] and the [[Pali Canon]]; a version was also incorporated into the Sanskrit [[Mahavastu]].<ref name=Solomon>{{cite journal |author=Salomon, R. |title=A Preliminary Survey of Some Early Buddhist Manuscripts Recently Acquired by the British Library |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=117 |issue=2 |year=1997 |pages=353–358 |doi=10.2307/605500 |jstor=605500}}</ref> It praises the solitary lifestyle and stoicism of the Indian rhinoceros and is associated with the [[eremitic]] lifestyle symbolized by the [[Pratyekabuddha]].<ref name=Hinuber>{{cite journal |author=Von Hinuber, O. |title=Review: A Gandhari Version of the Rhinoceros Sutra |journal=Journal of the American Oriental Society |volume=123 |issue=1 |year=2003 |pages=221–224 |jstor=3217869}}</ref>

=== Europe ===
{{Multiple images |image1=Dürer's Rhinoceros, 1515.jpg|caption1=''Dürer's Rhinoceros'' (1515)|image2=Thomas Daniell - The Indian Rhinoceros - Google Art Project.jpg|caption2=Painting of Indian rhinoceros by [[Thomas Daniell]] ({{circa}} 1790) |direction=vertical |total_width=200}}
In the 3rd century, [[Philip the Arab]] exhibited an Indian rhinoceros in [[Rome]].<ref name=Rookmaaker1973>{{cite journal |author=Rookmaaker, L. C. |year=1973 |title=Captive rhinoceroses in Europe from 1500 until 1810 |journal=Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde |volume=43 |issue=1 |pages=39–63 |doi=10.1163/26660644-04301002 |doi-access=free}}</ref> In 1515, [[Manuel I of Portugal]] obtained an Indian rhinoceros as a gift, which he passed on to [[Pope Leo X]], but which died in a shipwreck off the coast of Italy in early 1516, on the way from [[Lisbon]] to Rome. Three artistic representations were prepared of this rhinoceros: A [[woodcut]] by [[Hans Burgkmair]], a drawing and a woodcut called ''[[Dürer's Rhinoceros]]'' by [[Albrecht Dürer]], all dated 1515.<ref name=Rookmaaker1973/> In 1577–1588, [[Abada (rhinoceros)|Abada]] was a female Indian rhinoceros kept by the Portuguese kings [[Sebastian of Portugal|Sebastian I]] and [[Henry, King of Portugal|Henry I]] from 1577 to 1580 and by [[Philip II of Spain]] from about 1580 to 1588. She was the first rhinoceros seen in Europe after ''Dürer's Rhinoceros''. In about 1684, the first presumably Indian rhinoceros arrived in England.<ref name=Rookmaaker1973/> [[George Jeffreys, 1st Baron Jeffreys]] spread the rumour that his chief rival [[Francis North, 1st Baron Guilford]] had been seen riding on it.<ref>{{cite book |author=Society for Diffusion of Useful Knowledge |title=The Penny Cyclopaedia |date=1841 |publisher=Charles Knight & Co. |location=London |volume=19 |chapter=Rhinoceros |pages=463–475 |chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OQBfAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP471 |access-date=22 June 2019 |archive-date=10 November 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231110031535/https://books.google.com/books?id=OQBfAAAAcAAJ&pg=PP471 |url-status=live}}</ref>
[[File:Pietro Longhi 1751 rhino.jpg|thumb|''[[Clara (rhinoceros)|Clara the rhinoceros]] in Venice'', by [[Pietro Longhi]], 1751.]]
In 1741–1758, ''[[Clara (rhinoceros)|Clara the rhinoceros]]'' (c. 1738 – 14 April 1758) was a female Indian rhinoceros who became famous during 17 years of [[Grand Tour|touring Europe]] in the mid-18th century. She arrived in Europe in [[Rotterdam]] in 1741, becoming the fifth living rhinoceros to be seen in Europe in modern times since Dürer's rhinoceros in 1515. After tours through towns in the [[Dutch Republic]], the [[Holy Roman Empire]], [[Switzerland]], the [[Polish–Lithuanian Commonwealth]], France, the [[Kingdom of the Two Sicilies]], the [[Papal States]], [[Kingdom of Bohemia|Bohemia]] and [[Denmark]], she died in [[Lambeth]], England. In 1739, she was drawn and engraved by two English artists. She was then brought to Amsterdam, where [[Jan Wandelaar]] made two [[engraving]]s that were published in 1747. In the subsequent years, the rhinoceros was exhibited in several European cities. In 1748, [[Johann Elias Ridinger]] made an [[etching]] of her in [[Augsburg]], and [[Petrus Camper]] modelled her in [[clay]] in [[Leiden]]. In 1749, [[Georges-Louis Leclerc, Comte de Buffon]] drew it in Paris. In 1751, [[Pietro Longhi]] painted her in [[Venice]].<ref name=Rookmaaker1973/>

== See also ==
* [[Unicorn]], mythological character
* ''[[The Soul of the Rhino]]''{{Clear}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{Wikispecies|Rhinoceros unicornis}}
{{Commons}}
* {{cite web |title=Rhino Resource Center |url=http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com |website=Rhino Resource Center}}
* {{cite web |title=Greater One-Horned Rhino (''Rhinoceros unicornis'') |website=International Rhino Foundation |url=https://rhinos.org/}}
* [http://www.thebigzoo.com/Animals/Greater_Indian_Rhinoceros.asp TheBigZoo.com: ''Greater Indian Rhinoceros'']
* [http://www.animalinfo.org/species/artiperi/rhinunic.htm Indian Rhino page at AnimalInfo.org]
* [http://www.ultimateungulate.com/Perissodactyla/Rhinoceros_unicornis.html Indian Rhinoceros page at UltimateUngulate.com]

{{Perissodactyla}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q47910}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:EDGE species]]
[[Category:Fauna of Assam]]
[[Category:Fauna of South Asia]]
[[Category:Mammals described in 1758]]
[[Category:Mammals of India]]
[[Category:Mammals of Nepal]]
[[Category:Rhinoceros (genus)]]
[[Category:Semiaquatic mammals]]
[[Category:Symbols of Assam]]
[[Category:Animal taxa named by Carl Linnaeus]]
[[Category:Vulnerable animals]]

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Indian rhinoceros