World Rhino Day 2024

World Rhino Day is celebrated on September 22nd every year. This day brings awareness for all five rhinoceros species and the work being done to save them.

Did you know – there are only about 27,000 rhinos left in the world across all five species? Very few rhinos survive outside national parks and reserves due to numerous reasons.

Join us in taking a few minutes to learn about these powerful, unique, and critically endangered species for World Rhino Day.

The Rhino Population

Rhinos once roamed throughout Europe, Asia, and Africa. At the beginning of the 20th century, 500,000 rhinos roamed Africa and Asia. By 1970, the rhino population dropped to 70,000 and today, only about 27,000 rhinos remain. Learn about the 5 rhino species:

White rhino

(Population: 16,800) The white rhino recovered from near extinction with numbers as low as 50-100 left in the wild. Also known as the square-lipped rhinoceros, white rhinos have a square upper lip with almost no hair. White rhinos have complex social structures. Groups of sometimes 14 rhinos may form, notably females with calves. The majority of southern white rhinos live in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya.

Black rhino

(Population: 6,500) Among black and white rhinos, black rhinos are the smaller of the two. Black rhinos have hooked lips, whereas white rhinos are characterized by a square lip. The black rhino population declined dramatically in the 20th century at the hands of European hunters and settlers. Since then, the species has made a tremendous comeback from the brink of extinction. However, the black rhino is still considered critically endangered, and much work remains to bring the population up to even a fraction of what it once was.

Greater one-horned rhino

(Population: 4,000) The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species. They are identified by a single black horn about 8-25 inches long and a grey-brown hide with skin folds. Once widespread across the entire northern part of the Indian sub-continent, rhino numbers plummeted as they were hunted for sport or killed as agricultural pests. By the start of the 20th century, only about 200 greater one-horned rhinos remained in the wild. The recovery of this rhino species is among the greatest conservation success stories in Asia!

Sumatran rhino

(Population: 40) Sumatran rhinos are the smallest species of the living rhinoceroses. They are covered with long hair and are more closely related to the extinct woolly rhino. The Sumatran rhino once roamed throughout Southeast Asia. Today, the species only survives on the Indonesian islands of Sumatra and Borneo.

Javan rhino

(Population: Unknown) Javan rhinos are the most threatened of the five rhino species. This species is a dusky grey color and has a single horn of about 10 inches. The Javan rhino has a similar appearance to the closely related greater one-horned rhinoceros.?Javan rhinos once lived throughout northeast India and Southeast Asia. Vietnam’s last Javan rhino was poached in 2010.?

10 Rhino Fun Facts!

1. The name rhinoceros means “nose horn”.
2. A group of rhinos is known as a “crash”!
3. Rhinos can run up to 30-40 miles per hour.
4. White rhinos aren’t white and black rhinos aren’t black. They are both grey in color.
5. Rhinos?are known for their excellent memory. They can remember individuals and locations for years.
6. A rhino’s pregnancy lasts 15-16 months.
7. African rhinos have a symbiotic relationship with oxpeckers, also called “tick birds”.
8. Most wild rhino calves never meet their fathers.
9. Rhino horns are not made of bone, but of keratin, the same material found in your hair and fingernails.
10. Rhinos and elephants are not mortal enemies!

Donate or Adopt a Rhino on World Rhino Day

Click here: International Rhino Foundation