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Sumatran Rhinoceros

Dicerorhinus sumatrensis

Photo by Steffi
Published on Project Noah
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39.1452, -84.5083

Field Notes

Description:

"The Sumatran rhinoceros is not your ordinary rhino. Forest-dwelling with woolly red hair and quite petite (for a rhino), the Sumatran rhino uses its prehensile upper lip to browse on vegetation. It is also the world’s most endangered rhino, suffering from deforestation and poaching for its horn, which some Asian cultures believe has medicinal properties. Conservation efforts are critical to the survival of the species.

The Sumatran rhino has two horns, which are made of tightly packed hair-like fibers.
Rhino ears are large and cup-shaped to funnel sound, and rotate in different directions to help pinpoint the source.
The rhino’s sense of smell is so important that its nose takes up more space than its brain.
Since rhinos can’t sweat, they wallow in mud to cool down. Mud also protects the rhino from biting insects and keeps the skin healthy and smooth (well, smooth for a rhino anyway)."

http://cincinnatizoo.org/blog/animals/sumatran-rhinoceros/

Habitat:

Tropical rainforest and mountain moss forest

Notes:

It was wonderful getting to see the world’s most endangered rhino at the Cincinnati Zoo!

http://cincinnatizoo.org/blog/animals/sumatran-rhinoceros/

Species ID Suggestions

Comments (6)

Steff, congrats on having your spotting featured in the blog for World Rhino day! http://blog.projectnoah.org/post/32047894336/species-spotlight-rhinos
Hi Steffi, you can add your very special series to the Rhino mission if you like: http://www.projectnoah.org/missions/12848241
Also some amazing facts on the Wikipedia page about the Sumatran Rhino! The first documented Sumatran rhinoceros was shot 16 kilometres (9.9 mi) outside Fort Marlborough, near the west coast of Sumatra, in 1793. Drawings of the animal, and a written description, were sent to the naturalist Joseph Banks, then president of the Royal Society of London, who published a paper on the specimen that year. It was not until 1814, however, that the species was given a scientific name, by Johann Fischer von Waldheim, a German scientist and curator of the State Darwin Museum in Moscow, Russia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sumatran_rhinoceros
http://www.facebook.com/andatu.rhino follow link to see the new born Sumatran Rhinoceros in Indonesia. So special and so cute! I must see for all! Love your pics steffi.
Photographed
PublishedJune 29, 2011

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