Rhinos (Rhinocerotidae) - Ecology, History & Conservation

[TheHyenid76]

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.

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About Dr. Kees Rookmaaker:

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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”]

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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]

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

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

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