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Writer's pictureJennifer J

The Asian Rhino


The Asian Rhino is one of the two different types of species of rhino. The other species of rhino is the African rhino.

Both the African Rhino and the Asian Rhino, are critically endangered. Both of these species have been brought to the brink of extinction, through things such as poaching and deforestation. The main reason for the rhino been brought close to extinction is through poaching.

Rhinos have been killed for their horns, this has demised their numbers and brought them to the edge of extinction. It is something that could see this species of animal become extinct in our lifetime.

The sad thing about Asian Rhinos is that they have been around for millions of years. They have been around for over 50 million years, which shows how strong and resilient they are. However, their existence is threatened by humans.

Human activity, specifically poaching, but also deforestation and habit erosion has resulted in the Asian Rhino been taking to the brink of extinction.

The Asian Rhino Habitat

Asian Rhinos are a species of animal which mainly lives in tropical forests and tropical savannahs.

Conservation Status

Asian Rhinos are a species of animal on the verge of extinction. They are critically endangered, there are fewer than 4,000 of them left in the wild.

Species

There are three species of Asian Rhinos, the Greater One-Horned Rhino, the Javan Rhino and the Sumatran Rhino.

Greater One-Horned Rhino

There are thought to be slightly more than 3,000 Greater One-Horned Rhino in the wild left.

They have had a successful conservation story, as there used to be only 600 of them in the mid-1970s. They show how we can successfully bring back a species from extinction.

Though, they are nowhere near safe yet, as they are a vulnerable species.

Javan Rhino

Out of the three Asian Rhinos, the Javan Rhino is thought to be the most in danger of becoming extinct.

There are only 63 Javan Rhinos left in the wild, which makes this wild animal critically endangered.

Sumatran Rhino

The Sumatran Rhino doesn't fair much better than the Javan Rhino, it's thought that there are less than 100 Sumatra Rhino left in the wild. Though, the number of Sumatran Rhinos is unclear.

The Sumatran Rhinos are also critically endangered, which means that they are very near becoming extinct.

The Picture for Asian Rhinos

The picture for Asian Rhinos doesn't look particularly good. The Asian Rhinos are critically endangered, and there is a very real possibility that they could become extinct in our lifetime if nothing is done to save them.

Saving this species of animal comes down to two main things. To save this animal, a) we must stop these animals from being poached in the wild, and b) we must help protect their habits from being destroyed.

These rhinos are particularly vulnerable to poaching, by being killed for their horns. It's something that could end up seeing the rhino becoming extinct. But, it's not the only thing that could see this species become extinct - habit destruction could too.

The rhinos have been squeezed into small pockets of forests, or grasslands, because of their habitat being destroyed. Humans have destroyed the forests and grasslands that the animals rely on, which makes it hard for this species to live in the wild.

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