One-Horned Rhino

In News 

• The Rhino population in Kaziranga National Park of Assam increases by 200 according to the latest census. 
  • The population was 2413 in 2018 now it is 200 more which is a huge achievement for the future of Assam Wildlife in the country.

About Indian One-Horned Rhino

• The greater one-horned rhino (or “Indian rhino”) is the largest of the rhino species. 
• Physical Appearance
  • Indian Rhinos are brownish-grey in colour and are hairless. 
  • They have knobby skin that appears to be armour-plated. A single horn sits on top of their snout, and their upper lip is semi-prehensile.
  • The greater one-horned rhino is identified by a single black horn about 8-25 inches long and a grey-brown hide with skin folds, which gives it an armour-plated appearance. 

• Diet : They primarily graze, with a diet consisting almost entirely of grasses as well as leaves, branches of shrubs and trees, fruit, and aquatic plants.

• Habitat:
  • It is confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas.
  • The Great one-horned rhino is commonly found in Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan and in Assam, India. 
• Conservation Status: Greater One-Horned Rhinos (Rhinoceros unicornis): Vulnerable.

Conservation Efforts by India

• The Ministry of Environment and Forests (MoEF)  has launched a National Conservation Strategy for Indian One-Horned Rhino and the conservation initiatives for rhino has also enriched the grassland management which helps in reducing the negative impacts of climate change through carbon sequestration.
• New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019: Signed by India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia to conserve and protect the rhinos.
• Project to create DNA profiles of all rhinos by the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC).
• Indian Rhino Vision 2020:It is a unique programme where the government partnered international, national and local organisations for the conservation of the rhinos.
  • Under it, Manas has received a total of 22 rhinos from other protected areas.
• The Indian and Nepalese governments have taken major steps toward Indian Rhinoceros conservation with the help of the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). 

Source:TH