EXCLUSIVE: World Rhino Day 2021: Expert shares interesting facts about the species

How many of us knew that deer and antelopes are two different species? Not many, for sure. And that nilgai is not a deer, but an antelope? Again, not many. What’s the difference between a deer and an antelope, you ask? A deer, only males, will shed their antlers, whereas an antelope has a horn, which is hollow, that’s why it’s called blowing a horn, and once it’s broken, it’s gone. It will never grow back again.

You must be wondering why we are bombarding you with so many facts about deer and antelopes. The reason being today is World Rhino Day and rhinos are the closest to an antelope, which is why, the Great Indian Rhinoceros, which is shared between Indian and Nepal, have communal toilets.

“They will poop round balls, unlike a cow which splashes its dung everywhere. And all the rhinos will defecate at a particular spot, and not anywhere, creating a litter hill probably 2 feet of the ground. That is what antelopes do too. This is one of the reasons why we know they are closest to the antelopes. Now, why exactly they do it, is still unclear. It may be because they seek communication or information out of it,” says Sachin Rai, a wildlife photographer, who has spent years out in the wild with all kinds of animals.

There are two kinds of rhinos in Africa – grazers and browsers. “Grazer is someone who eats grass, and browser is the one who eats plants. In India, we have largely browsers, but they are grazers too. These have curled-down upper lips, just like elephants, so that they can pluck leaves. It’s actually like a hand. They use it just like you pluck something with two fingers,” mentions Rai with much excitement.

He goes on and tells you that the Indian rhinos have armor, which the African ones don't. “If you ever want to differentiate between the two, the Indian ones have armor plates, and they are clearly visible,” explains Rai.

Further, there are two types of African rhinos – white and black. “However, the fact of the matter is that both of them are grey. And, now they are planning to change the name,” says Rai.

This might leave you wondering if both of them are grey, then why to name it as white and black in the first place. There’s an interesting story behind it. “Kenya and Tanzania had very strong Danish influence. In South Africa, people started calling it wide rhino, because it's actually a browser and hence, it has wide or square lips. With the pronunciation of people living there, it turned to white. And automatically, the other one got its name as black,” narrates Rai.

It’s a no-brainer that with everything comes a bundle of myths, and this animal is no different. It’s believed that the horn of the rhino has healing properties. “This is wrong. This belief is mostly dominant in China, where people think of it as a remedy to things, including joint pain and to make men last longer during sex. However, the fact of the matter is that the horn is made up of keratin, just like our nails and hair. There’s no scientific research that proves its benefits. The sad thing is that a lot of rhinos were killed, especially for their horns,” adds Rai.

Now, how calm or aggressive an animal rhino is, you ask? Rai is quick to answer – they are aggressive and short-tempered. “Their eyesight is not very good, but their hearing power is strong. So, if they see you standing close to them, they might sense danger, and would charge at you without wasting a second. And if you are on foot, and charged by a rhino, there are very minor chances that you would live to tell the story,” he says and tells you that he himself has been charged by rhinos many times. Luckily, he was in a car, and the driver drove it at lighting’s speed.

But, to end things on a positive note, there’s a rather playful side to the animals too. “They feel the heat to a large extent, hence they always cover themselves with water. Most of the time, you will see them lying with their nostrils under the water, and making bubbles, just like a human would do in a swimming pool. Once cool, they will come out, and keep on repeating this. Now, if it is out of play, or they just do it to cool themselves is still unclear, but it’s fun to watch them do this,” concludes Rai.

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