Indian rhinoceros

Indian rhinoceros Temporal range: Early Pleistocene–Recent PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
An Indian rhinoceros in Kaziranga National Park, Assam, India
Conservation status
Vulnerable  (IUCN 3.1)[1]
CITES Appendix I (CITES)[1]
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Perissodactyla
Family:	Rhinocerotidae
Genus:	Rhinoceros
Species:	R. unicornis
Binomial name
Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758
Indian rhinoceros historical range

The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), also known as the greater one-horned rhinoceros, great Indian rhinoceros, or Indian rhino for short, is a rhinoceros species native to the Indian subcontinent. It is the second largest extant species of rhinoceros, with adult males weighing 2.07–2.2 tonnes and adult females 1.6 tonnes. The skin is thick and is grey-brown in colour with pinkish skin folds. They have a single horn on their snout that grows to a maximum of 57.2 cm (22.5 in). Their upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart-like bumps. They are nearly hairless, aside from the eyelashes, ear fringes and tail brush.

The Indian rhinoceros is a largely solitary animal, and they only associate in the breeding season and when rearing calves. They are grazers, and their diet is mainly grass, but may also include twigs, leaves, branches, shrubs, flowers, fruits, and aquatic plants. Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation of 15.7 months; the birth interval is 34 to 51 months. Captive individuals can live up to 47 years. They are susceptible to diseases such as anthrax, and those caused by parasites such as leeches, ticks, and nematodes.

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). As of August 2018, the global population was estimated to comprise 3,588 individuals. Indian rhinos once ranged throughout the entire stretch of the Indo-Gangetic Plain, but excessive hunting and agricultural development reduced its range drastically to 11 sites in northern India and southern Nepal. In the early 1990s, between 1,870 and 1,895 Indian rhinos were estimated to have been alive. Since then, numbers have increased due to conservation measures taken by the government. However, poaching remains a continuous threat.