Rhino facts

The second biggest land mammal, after elephants.

Rhinos are big. Seriously big. They are strong, dangerous, and unpredictable. The second biggest land mammal, after elephants. They can grow up to 4 tonnes in weight, though usually breeding rhinos are about 2 tonnes.

Rhinos are probably related to the largest land mammal that ever lived, the Baluchitherium, (named because its fossil remains were found in Balukistan, sometimes known as Indricotherium) . It was 18 feet tall and 36 feet long. Woolly Rhinos were found in the Bristol area in prehistoric days.

Rhino poaching

Poaching Rhinos for their horn has reduced the population from 70,000 30 years ago to 18,000 today.

The fundamental problem for the rhino is its horn, which is made of keratin, a substance found in human hair and nails. Rhino horn is used extensively in traditional medicine in Asia and to make ornamental dagger handles in the Yemen. The demand is so great that traders are prepared to pay poachers vast sums to kill rhinos for their horns.

Save the Rhino

The main focus of Save the Rhinos is fundraising in support of a minimum of 13 selected rhino conservation projects in Africa and Asia. All the money raised will go to the selected projects, directly supporting the conservation and survival of rhinos in the wild.

But the campaign also aims to create awareness of the threats that rhinos face in the wild (such as poaching, see above).

Help to Save the Rhinos:
If you would like to stop rhinos becoming extinct, then join the Save the Rhinos campaign. Talk about it to your friends colleagues and family, make a donation via Justgiving, have a look at the list of requested objects, visit the campaign’s website to read about the selected projects.