Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation

Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - Printable Version

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Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 11-26-2023

Post information (scientific & historical) about rhinos across their current & historic range.

From "The Mammals of Iraq" by Robert T. Hatt

*This image is copyright of its original author

The Indian Rhino was once found the Middle East (Iraq)
There are ancient depictions of Indian Fauna in the Middle East

The Mammals of Iraq

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - Spalea - 11-26-2023

There were already 3 two topics about rhinos inside Wildfact forum... You can see that by making a search...

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-conservation-rhino-horn-and-ivory-a-sensitive-issue?pid=60600&highlight=rhino#pid60600

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-western-black-rhino-is-declared-extinct-officially

And also:

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-big-herbivores

And as concerns extinct animals, more precisely fossil rhinos:

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-prehistoric-rhinocerotidae-and-relatives

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 12-23-2023

(11-26-2023, 08:16 PM)Spalea Wrote: There were already 3 two topics about rhinos inside Wildfact forum... You can see that by making a search...

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-conservation-rhino-horn-and-ivory-a-sensitive-issue?pid=60600&highlight=rhino#pid60600

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-western-black-rhino-is-declared-extinct-officially

And also:

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-big-herbivores

And as concerns extinct animals, more precisely fossil rhinos:

https://wildfact.com/forum/topic-prehistoric-rhinocerotidae-and-relatives

You are one of the most valuable posters in this forum, but in this case you are very wrong. WildFact specializes in quality BIG CAT information. Very little is here on rhinos and other herbivores. Even the Asiatic elephant does not have its own thread. The inspiration for creating this thread is Dr Kees Rookmaaker. About him. He is the Chief editor of Rhino Resource Center, the internet's largest collection of information about rhinos. Information from his books will be published later.

The Mammalian Species account of all five extant rhinoceros. About the 'Mammalian Species':

"Mammalian Species is published by the American Society of Mammalogists with 10-20 individual species accounts issued each year. Each uniform account summarizes the current understanding of the biology of an individual species including systematics, distribution, fossil history, genetics, anatomy, physiology, behavior, ecology, and conservation. The accounts vary from 2-14 pages depending upon what is known about the species."

[Black Rhino] Mammalian Species No. 455 Diceros bicornis - A.K. Kes Hillman-Smith & Colin P. Groves (1994) LINK
[White Rhino] Mammalian Species No. 8 Ceratotherium simum - Colin P. Groves (1972) LINK
[Javan Rhino] Mammalian Species Issue 887 Rhinoceros sondaicus - Colin P. Groves & David M. Leslie Jr (2011) LINK
[Sumatran Rhino] Mammalian Species No. 21 Dicerorhinus sumatrensis - Colin P. Groves & Fred Kurt (1972) LINK
[Indian Rhino] Mammalian Species No. 211 Rhinoceros unicornis - W.A Laurie, E.M. Lang & Colin P. Groves (1983) LINK

Literature on the ecology and behavior of all extant rhinos:
- Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis)

Notes on the ecology and behaviour of the black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis Linn. 1758 in South West Africa LINK
Seasonal variation in the feeding ecology of black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis L.) in Laikipia, Kenya LINK
Ecology and behaviour of the black rhinoceros diceros bicornis linn. 1758 in Masai Mara game reserve LINK
The feeding ecology of the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis minor) in the Great Fish River Reserve, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa LINK

- Indian Rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis)

Behavioural ecology of the Greater one‐horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) LINK
Habitat and population ecology of Rhinoceros unicornis in Dudhwa National Park, Uttar pradesh LINK
Feeding ecology of two endangered sympatric megaherbivores: Asian elephant Elephas maximus and greater one-horned rhinoceros Rhinoceros unicornis in lowland Nepal LINK
Food habit and feeding patterns of great Indian one-horned rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis) in Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park, Assam, India LINK

- Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

On competition between javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus) and javan bull (Bos javanicus) at Ujung Kulon National Park with allee effect LINK
Javan Rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest 1822) Utilization Distribution and Habitat Selection in Ujung Kulon National Park LINK
Preliminary behaviour observations of the Javan rhinoceros (Rhinoceros sondaicus) based on video trap surveys in Ujung Kulon National Park LINK
On Territorial Competition between Rhinoceros Sondaicus and Bos Javanicus at Ujung Kulon National Park LINK

- White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum)

The Social Ethology of the White Rhinoceros Ceratotherium simum (Burchell 1817) LINK
Behavioural-ecology of the white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) in the Willem Pretorius Game Reserve
Habitat use and feeding behaviour of the buffalo and the white rhinoceros in the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve
The reproductive performance, demography and spatial ecology of an extralimital white rhinoceros population

- Sumatran Rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

Sumatran rhinoceros, Dicerorhinus sumatrensis (Fischer, 1814), in the Gunung Leuser National Park, Sumatra, Indonesia : its distribution, ecology and conservation LINK
Distribution status and feeding ecology of the Sumatran rhinoceros in Malaysia LINK
Habitat utilization of the Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni) in Kutai Barat forest, East Kalimantan, Indonesia LINK
Ecology and Conservation of Endangered Species in Sumatra: Smaller Cats and the Sumatran Rhinoceros (Dicerorhinus Sumatrensis) As Case Studies LINK

Incredible images of all five extant rhino species. All the sources not in order (probably)

*This image is copyright of its original author

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - Spalea - 12-24-2023

@TheHyenid76 :

You wrote at #3 : " You are one of the most valuable posters in this forum, but in this case you are very wrong. WildFact specializes in quality BIG CAT information. Very little is here on rhinos and other herbivores. Even the Asiatic elephant does not have its own thread. The inspiration for creating this thread is Dr Kees Rookmaaker. About him. He is the Chief editor of Rhino Resource Center, the internet's largest collection of information about rhinos. Information from his books will be published later. "

I'm agree with you Wildfact is very focused by big cats information. But simply because a majority of forumers (myself included as concerns lions) are specially interested by the big felids. When we consider this forum name, I can conclude that it initially concerned the animal life into the wild. I'm not "in the creators' head" but it was my first clear impression when I saw it (Wildfact forum) for the first time. You have just to read the Peter's paraph when you enter this site.

So, the first purpose of this forum was the study and accounts about the wild life. But because of the forumers affinities and interests, the site became a forum specialised about the big cats. We can regret it, because rhinos and elephants for example. whom you quoted about, are also fascinating animals, I clearly think it, but it's so. And don't get me wrong as concerns my remark (#2) but having been a much more activ member during a certain time I initiated several, hardly at all restarted then, topics. and by telling you that, I only wanted to avoid too that your initiated topic stagnates at two or three posts. Because you can understand with me that numerous threads with only 2 or 3 posts don't help to the brightness of the site.

And thank a lot for the numerous links you give about rhinos. I will look at them later... And comment on this thread.

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 12-24-2023

Images of Wild Asian rhinos in their natural habitats (Greater one-horned, Sumatran and Javan) from "Asian Rhinos: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan" Archive

*This image is copyright of its original author

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 12-27-2023

Dr Rudi Putra gives a talk regarding the conservation of Sumatran rhinos

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 03-26-2024

The Historical occurence of Asian rhinos in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh is a small south Asian country surrounded by India and Myanmar with the Bay of Bengal to its South. Historically, Bangladesh had a huge array of incredible megafauna including rhinos. However, rhinos have been extirpated from Bangladesh. Bears, leopards, tigers and elephants are still surviving in the country despite Herculean threats.

From "Red List of Bangladesh Volume 2: Mammals" The Sumatran rhino, Indian rhino and the Javan rhino all have been included in 'Extinct Mammals of Bangladesh'

*This image is copyright of its original author

Occurrence of the rhinos in the Sundarbans

An incredible paper by Dr Kees Rookmaaker on the historical occurrence of the Javan rhino in the Sundarbans. LINK

RECORDS OFTHE SUNDARBANS RHINOCEROS (Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis) in India and Bangladesh

SUMMARY

The Javan rhinos existed in the forests near the Bay of Bengal, called the Sundarbans, in southern Bangladesh and the state of West Bengal, India. It was first shot by F. V. Lamarepicquot in 1828, whose two specimens were described as a new species, Rhinoceros inermis, by Lesson in 1838. The animal was noted in the Sundarbans with some regularity until 1892. In total 11 specimens are known in different museums. The rhinos lived in small numbers in well-defined localities throughout the entire Sundarbans. It must have become extinct before 1925.

[Map of the Sundarbans of India and Bangladesh. The numbers show localities where rhinos were sighted, see Table 1.]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Table 1. Records of rhinos in the Sundarbans in chronological order. The map reference refers to the numbers on Figure 1.]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[The mounted skin of Rhinoceros sondaicus inermis in the Museum fur Naturkunde in Berlin]

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From "The Imperial Gazetteer of India Volume 13" Year 1885.

"In the Sundarbans, however, the tiger, leopard, rhinoceros, wild buffalo, spotted deer, hog-deer, barking deer, and bara singhar or large deer are common."

Rhinos in Bangladesh outside the Sundarbans.

From "A preliminary wildlife survey in Sangu-Matamuhuri Reserve Forest, Chittagong Hill Tracts, Bangladesh" LINK

Notes on extinct Megafauna

"The Mro people claim that Banteng never occurred in this area but that wild water buffalo still exists in the area. It can be safely assumed that rhinoceros no longer exist in this part of the CHT. A 90-year-old Mro man mentioned that he encountered a rhinoceros 70 years ago in the Sangu-Matamuhiri Valley."

From 'Mammalian Species Rhinoceros sondaicus' by Dr Colin P. Groves LINK

[Rhinoceros sondaicus occurs in only 2 very small areas of southeastern Asia: Ujung Kulon, West Java (about 6u459S, 105u159E), and Cat Loc, Vietnam (about 11u359N, 107u229E; perhaps extinct). Green shading delimits areas of known historical distribution based on museum specimens collected beginning in the mid-1800s (Groves 1967; Rookmaaker 1980).]

*This image is copyright of its original author

From "Asian Rhinos An Action Plan for their Conservation" by Dr Mohd. Khan bin Momin Khan LINK

[Approximate former distribution of the great one-horned rhinoceros (shaded area).]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Approximate former distribution of the Javan rhinoceros (shaded area).]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Approximate former distribution of the Sumatran rhinoceros (shaded area).]

*This image is copyright of its original author

Key points from this post:

Historically all the species of Asian rhino species were found in Bangladesh.
Javan rhinos were found throughout Bangladesh including the Sundarbans and the Chittagong Hill Tracts. Javan rhinos existed on both the Indian and Bangladesh side of the Sundarbans.
Sumatran rhinos were found throughout eastern Bangladesh. (Both north & South)
Where the rhinos existed, elephants, bears & wild cats (small and big) still survive. It is important to learn from the extinction of rhinos, and conserve and study the remaining megafauna.

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 04-28-2024

New data on the ecology and conservation of the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus Desmarest, 1822 (Perissodactyla, Rhinocerotidae) LINK

Summary

Despite investing great effort into in situ data collection, the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus is still a poorly known species. Previously, this taxon was present throughout Southeast Asia, from Bangladesh to Vietnam, and from Southern China to Java. Unfortunately, only about 60 Rhinoceros sondaicus remain today, mostly males, and all reside in the Ujung Kulon National Park, on the island of Java, Indonesia. This second largest mammal of the Southeast Asian rainforest is a solitary dweller of lowland woodlands and does not climb mountains. Its upper lip is prehensile and differs from that of the grazer Rhinoceros unicornis in both length and adaptation, as the Javan rhinoceros is a generalist browser. A prominent distinctive feature of the Javan rhinoceros is the 'saddle' on the neck, while the female horn is nearly absent, allowing sexual distinction to be made even among young individuals. Based on data from camera traps we suspect that Rhinoceros sondaicus has also developed a peculiar and complex behaviour, as well as characteristic vocalization related to mud wallows. As this species is sometime wrongly classified as Rhinoceros unicornis, to aid in better differentiation, a distinctive be-havioural trait of mothers and their calves is described in this work. A goal is also to highlight the need for a much greater effort to know and preserve the surviving individuals to ensure that this unique species will not disappear forever. Conservation is dangerously lacking constant management control and a second population establishment is not considered as a priority. The authors propose increasing the carrying capacity of the current area, as the rhinos are confined within the Ujung Kulon National Park, which has limited suitable habitat. They propose creating new clearings by falling large trees in palm-free areas, allowing saplings to grow and increasing the quantity of food available to the rhinos as well as highlighting the urgency of ex situ management strategies and biobanking of cell cultures for the maximizing conservation options for the survival of this valuable species.

Distribution:

"The Sundaic, or lesser one-horned rhino, popularly known as the Javan rhinoceros Rhinoceros sondaicus Anselme Gaëtan Desmarest, 1822 is also referred to by Indonesian names, such as badak or baduk Jawa, warak and Abah Gede. Its distribution once extended throughout the swampy forests of southern Bangladesh and south-east West Bengal – the Sundarbans – the lowland forests of central Bangladesh, the north-eastern Indian regions, western and south Myanmar, south Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Peninsula Malaysia, Sumatra, and Java (Loch 1937, Rookmaaker 1980, Grubb 2005) with some indications that it had once been present in southern China as well (Rookmaaker 2006, Antoine 2012). Basing on few fossil records, Cranbrook & Piper (2007) concluded that this species also occupied Borneo during the late Pleistocene-early Holocene, its possible later survival is however excluded (Rookmaaker 1977). While over the years remnants of R. sondaicus have been collected on multiple occasions in the north-eastern regions of India and the Sundarbans (Rookmaaker 1980, 1997, 2002), all rhinoceros reports from Bhutan refer to greater one-horned rhinoceroses Rhinoceros unicornis Linnaeus, 1758 (Rookmaaker 2016). "

Skeleton and skull of Javan Rhinoceros and a stunning picture of a male Javan rhino (Respectively)

[The skeleton of Javan rhinoceros at the Zoological Museum of the University Federico II of Naples (Italy). The horn was stolen but replaced with an excessively long replica]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[Very rare, original Rhinoceros sondaicus annamiticus skull with intact nasal bone, but missing the incisors and premaxillary bones. The specimen, collected in 1880, was presented to an antique shop in France by a missionary in Indochina – ’gift of R. P. Boutier’. His Mission was at that time in Hanoi, Vietnam, very close to China. It was acquired in 1997 by the Museum of Osteology in Oklahoma City, USA]

*This image is copyright of its original author

[A beautiful male Javan rhinoceros in its natural habitat in Ujung Kulon National Park]

*This image is copyright of its original author

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 04-28-2024

The White Rhino - A Conservation Success Story

RE: Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation - TheHyenid76 - 10-19-2024

The Rhinoceros of South Asia - Dr. Kees Rookmaaker

In historical times, Rhinos (all 3 Asian species) were widespread throughout South Asia and it was the icon of the Ganges. From Afghanistan to Bangladesh, rhinos inhabited all SAARC countries excluding the island nations of Sri Lanka and Maldives.

*This image is copyright of its original author

About Dr. Kees Rookmaaker:

*This image is copyright of its original author

Kees studied biology specialising in mammalian taxonomy and history of zoology, finalised with a Ph.D. from the University of Utrecht in 1989. He is interested in a large range of subjects in the history of natural history as well as everything connected with research and conservation of rhinoceroses.

He is Chief Editor of the Rhino Resource Center, which aims to collect, preserve and disseminate all available printed information on the five living species of rhinoceros. The holdings include over 13,000 references to rhino publications published between 1500 and the present day, all included in the database on the website, rhinoresourcecenter.com. (Source)

[The River Ganges portrayed as an old man with an austere aspect, accompanied by a rhinoceros. The plate was designed by George Richardson (1736–1817) for his book on icons of the world. It was “Published as the Act directs Nov. 23. 1776”]

*This image is copyright of its original author

In this book, Dr Kees Rookmaaker has conducted an unbelievably comprehensive and detailed research on the historical distribution of all three Asian rhinos in this region. He has synthesized vast amount of information regarding the Javan, Indian and Sumatran rhinos of South Asia from an unbelievably diverse array of sources. In the book, he has also discussed the conservation efforts of India and Nepal regarding the Indian/Greater-one-horned Rhino. I am not exaggerating at all and you can see the depth by checking the bibliography:

'The Rhinoceros of South Asia: Bibliography' LINK

[Five species of rhinoceros: Indian (twice), Sumatran (= Javan), Two-horned Sumatran, Two-horned African, Flat-nosed rhinoceros. This plate combines figures published by William Jardine (1784–1843) in his Naturalist’s Library]

*This image is copyright of its original author

The book is fully open-access and can be downloaded and read for free. Download the book from Brill.

*This image is copyright of its original author

A lecture by Dr Bihbab Kumar Talukdar (renowned Indian conservation biologist) on Rhino conservation in India. 'Rhino Conservation - Overview, Challenges and Outcomes'