News: The one-horned rhinos may get some more breathing space outside its biggest habitats in Assam’s Kaziranga National Park, Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary and West Bengal’s Jaldapara National Park. One-Horned Rhinos.
About One-Horned Rhinos
- They are also known as the Indian Rhinoceros and are the largest of the three Asian rhino species.
- Distribution and habitat:
- Rhinos thrive in floodplain grasslands, swamps, and riverine forests, particularly in the Terai region of India and Nepal.
- Indian rhinos are primarily found in protected areas in Assam, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh and Nepal.
- Distribution within India: They are mainly found in the seven Protected Areas –
- Assam – Kaziranga NP (70% of world’s one-horned rhinos, 2613 rhinos as per 2022 Census), Pobitara WLS, Orang NP, Manas NP,
- West Bengal – Jaldapara NP and Gorumara NP
- Uttar Pradesh – Dudhwa NP
- In addition, a transient population is also observed in Katerniaghat WLS in Uttar Pradesh and Valmiki TR in Bihar, which experience visits of rhinos from adjoining Nepal.
- Fun fact: Greater one-horned rhinos are good swimmers and can dive and feed underwater.
- Protection Status:
- IUCN Red List: Vulnerable.
- CITES: Appendix I (Threatened with extinction and CITES prohibits international trade in specimens of these species except when the purpose of the import is not commercial, for instance for scientific research).
- Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.
Rhinos around the Globe:
- There are five species of rhino – white and black rhinos in Africa, and the greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhino species in Asia.
- IUCN Red List Status:
- Black Rhino: Critically endangered. Smaller of the two African species.
- White Rhino: Near Threatened.
- One-Horned Rhino: Vulnerable
- Javan: Critically Endangered
- Sumatran Rhino: Critically Endangered. It has gone extinct in Malaysia.
