Rhinos are huge, plant-eating animals with one or two horns made of keratin. There are five kinds: white and black rhinos in Africa, and greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhinos in Asia. White rhinos weigh up to 2,700 kg. Only about 27,000 rhinos are left, mostly because of poaching for their horns.
rhinos quick facts
- There are five kinds of rhino: two in Africa and three in Asia.
- Rhino horn is made of keratin, like hair and fingernails.
- Only about 27,000 rhinos are left on Earth.
- A rhino mother is pregnant for 15 to 16 months.
- Only about 50 Javan rhinos are left, all in one park.
What is a rhino?
A rhino, short for rhinoceros, is a huge, plant-eating animal with thick skin and one or two horns on its nose. Rhinos are among the largest land animals on Earth.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says there are five living kinds of rhino. Two live in Africa, the white rhino and the black rhino. Three live in Asia: the greater one-horned rhino, the Javan rhino and the Sumatran rhino.
Rhinos have been around for a very long time. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says rhino ancestors walked the Earth about 55 million years ago, and close to 100 kinds of rhino have existed.
Today, rhinos are in trouble. The International Rhino Foundation says only about 27,000 rhinos of all five kinds are left on Earth.
| Rhino | Where | How many (2025) | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| White rhino | Africa | 15,752 | Near Threatened |
| Black rhino | Africa | 6,788 | Critically Endangered |
| Greater one-horned rhino | India and Nepal | 4,075 | Vulnerable |
| Javan rhino | Indonesia | about 50 | Critically Endangered |
| Sumatran rhino | Indonesia | 34 to 47 | Critically Endangered |
Rhino horns
A rhino’s horn is not made of bone. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says it is made of keratin, the same material as your hair and fingernails.
The International Rhino Foundation says white, black and Sumatran rhinos have two horns, while greater one-horned and Javan rhinos have one.
Horns can be very long. The International Rhino Foundation says a white rhino’s front horn can be 94 to 201 cm (37 to 79 inches) long.
Sadly, rhino horn is used in some traditional medicines. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says it has no healing powers at all, but demand for it is the main reason rhinos are killed.
How big are rhinos?
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says white rhinos and greater one-horned rhinos are tied as the second-largest land mammals. Only elephants are bigger. Meet the biggest in our elephant facts.
The International Rhino Foundation says a white rhino weighs 1,800 to 2,700 kg (4,000 to 6,000 pounds) and stands 1.5 to 1.8 m tall at the shoulder.
San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says the muscle hump on a white rhino’s neck, which holds up its heavy head, weighs 362 to 454 kg on its own.
The smallest rhino is the Sumatran rhino. The International Rhino Foundation says it weighs 600 to 950 kg and is only about 1 to 1.5 m tall at the shoulder.
White and black rhinos
Despite their names, white rhinos and black rhinos are both grey. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says the name “white” probably comes from a Dutch word meaning “wide”, describing the white rhino’s wide mouth.
Their mouths show what they eat. The International Rhino Foundation says white rhinos have a wide, square lip for mowing short grass, while black rhinos have a pointed, grasping upper lip for pulling leaves and twigs from bushes.
White rhinos were nearly wiped out, with fewer than 100 left in the early 1900s. The International Rhino Foundation says protection brought them back to more than 21,000 by 2012, although poaching has pushed numbers down again. Find out more in our guide to how many white rhinos are left.
Black rhinos suffered too. The International Rhino Foundation says their numbers crashed by 96%, from about 65,000 in 1970 to about 2,300 in 1993. One kind, the western black rhino, was declared extinct in 2011.
Asia’s rhinos
Greater one-horned rhino: it lives in India and Nepal. The International Rhino Foundation says it recovered from fewer than 100 to more than 4,000, one of conservation’s great success stories. It grazes on grasslands by rivers and eats water plants while standing in the water.
Javan rhino: it lives in only one place on Earth, Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia. The International Rhino Foundation says poachers killed 26 there between 2019 and 2023, leaving about 50. Only males have a proper horn.
Sumatran rhino: the smallest and hairiest rhino. The International Rhino Foundation says only 34 to 47 are left, in a few small, separate groups in Indonesia. Save the Rhino says it is the closest living relative of the Ice Age woolly rhino.
Woolly rhinos once roamed Europe and Asia, and Stone Age people painted them on cave walls. See some of that art in our guide to Stone Age cave paintings.
Where do rhinos live?
African rhinos live on grasslands and in bushland. The International Rhino Foundation says white rhinos live in 11 African countries, but most of them are in just one country, South Africa. Black rhinos live in 12 African countries.
Asian rhinos live in very different places, from the grassy river valleys of India and Nepal to the thick rainforests of Indonesia.
Rhino senses
Rhinos have poor eyesight. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says they are very short-sighted, and Animal Diversity Web says a black rhino can only see about 25 to 30 m away.
But their hearing is excellent. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says each ear can swivel on its own, like a satellite dish, to catch sounds from different directions.
Rhinos can move surprisingly fast for their size. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says a black rhino can charge at up to 64 km/h (40 mph).
Thick skin and mud baths
Rhino skin is thick and tough. Animal Diversity Web says a white rhino’s skin is about 1.8 cm thick on average.
Rhinos love a good roll in the mud. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says wallowing in mud gives them a coat of natural sunscreen and bug repellent.
What do rhinos eat?
All rhinos are plant-eaters. White rhinos are grazers that eat grass, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says they crop it so low that they make “grazing lawns”.
Black rhinos are browsers that eat leaves and twigs. Animal Diversity Web says a black rhino eats about 23.6 kg of plants a day, and San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says it can go up to five days without drinking.
Asian rhinos eat a huge variety of plants. The International Rhino Foundation says Javan rhinos eat more than 300 kinds of plants, and Sumatran rhinos more than 100.
Rhino groups
A group of rhinos is called a crash. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says their shared dung heaps are called middens, and they use them to leave messages for other rhinos.
Female white rhinos often live in groups of up to about a dozen with their young, while males usually live alone. The International Rhino Foundation says black, greater one-horned and Sumatran rhinos mostly live alone, except for mothers with calves.
Sumatran rhinos are surprisingly chatty. Save the Rhino says they talk mostly with whistles and whines.
Rhino fights can be dangerous. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says about half of black rhino males die from wounds from fighting.
Rhino calves
A rhino mother is pregnant for a very long time. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance and the International Rhino Foundation say it lasts 15 to 16 months, much longer than a human’s nine months.
A newborn white rhino calf weighs 40 to 60 kg, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says. That is as heavy as a big dog.
Calves drink their mother’s milk until they are 12 to 18 months old, and can stay with her for up to four years. The International Rhino Foundation says a mother usually has one calf every two to three years.
Rhinos can live about 35 to 45 years. San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance says one black rhino in human care reached 49.
Why are rhinos in danger?
The International Rhino Foundation says poaching for horn is the biggest threat to rhinos. Habitat loss is a problem too.
Some rhino groups are now so small and scattered that animals struggle to find mates. The International Rhino Foundation says only two northern white rhinos are left, both female, so that subspecies can no longer breed on its own.
Rangers, scientists and conservation groups work hard to protect rhinos, by guarding them, stopping poachers and keeping their habitats safe.
Horns of every size
Rhino horns come in very different sizes. The International Rhino Foundation says a white rhino’s back horn can reach 55 cm, and a black rhino’s front horn can be 0.5 to 1.3 m long.
The greater one-horned rhino’s single horn is 20 to 61 cm long, the International Rhino Foundation says. A male Javan rhino’s horn is only about 25 cm long, and females have just a small bump or no horn at all.
Black rhinos are much smaller than white rhinos. The International Rhino Foundation says they weigh 800 to 1,350 kg.
Rhinos that are nearly gone
Asia’s rarest rhinos have lost ground fast. The International Rhino Foundation says as many as 800 Sumatran rhinos were thought to exist in 1986.
Today they survive only in a few small groups: in Bukit Barisan Selatan, Gunung Leuser and Way Kambas National Parks on Sumatra, and in Kalimantan, on the island of Borneo.
Javan rhinos once lived in Vietnam too. Save the Rhino and the International Rhino Foundation say the last Javan rhino in Vietnam died in 2011. In 2022 there were thought to be 76 Javan rhinos in Indonesia, but after poaching, only about 50 remain.
Three things people get wrong
Rhino horn is not bone. It is made of keratin, like your hair and fingernails.
White rhinos are not white. They are grey, like black rhinos.
Rhino horn cannot cure illness. It has no healing powers.
Did you know? The Sumatran rhino is the closest living relative of the Ice Age woolly rhino.
Try it
Look at your fingernails. Rhino horns are made of the same material, called keratin.
Knowledge check
What is a rhino horn made of?
Show answer
Keratin, like hair and fingernails.
What is a group of rhinos called?
Show answer
A crash.
Frequently asked questions
How many kinds of rhino are there?
There are five: the white and black rhinos of Africa, and the greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhinos of Asia.
What are rhino horns made of?
Rhino horns are made of keratin, the same material as your hair and fingernails. They are not made of bone.
How big is a rhino?
White rhinos weigh 1,800 to 2,700 kg and stand up to 1.8 m tall. The Sumatran rhino is the smallest, at 600 to 950 kg.
What do rhinos eat?
All rhinos eat plants. White rhinos graze on grass, black rhinos browse on leaves and twigs, and Asian rhinos eat many kinds of plants.
How many rhinos are left in the world?
About 27,000 rhinos of all five species are left. There are only about 50 Javan rhinos and 34 to 47 Sumatran rhinos.
Why are rhinos endangered?
Poaching for their horns is the biggest threat, along with habitat loss and small, scattered groups that struggle to find mates.
Sources
- International Rhino Foundation: rhino species — the five species, numbers and threats; its pages on each species were also used
- Save the Rhino International: population figures — 2025 population figures and status for all five species; its Sumatran rhino page was also used
- San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance: rhinoceros — history, horns, senses, speed, diet, groups, calves and myths; its white rhino page was also used
- Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan: black rhino — eyesight, daily food and calves; its white rhino page was also used
