# Indian Rhinoceros (*Rhinoceros unicornis*)

> The Indian rhinoceros (Rhinoceros unicornis), or greater one-horned rhino, is an armour-plated giant of Nepal and northeast India with a single black horn. Weighing 1,800–2,700 kg (2–3 tons), it has recovered from fewer than 200 animals a century ago to around 4,000 today, though it remains listed as Vulnerable.

- **Category:** Mammal
- **Conservation status (IUCN):** Vulnerable
- **Range:** Floodplain grasslands of Nepal and northeast India, especially Kaziranga in Assam and Chitwan in Nepal.
- **Canonical page:** https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/indian-rhinoceros/
- **Last reviewed:** 2026-07-16

## Scientific classification

- **Kingdom:** Animalia
- **Phylum:** Chordata
- **Class:** Mammalia
- **Order:** Perissodactyla
- **Family:** Rhinocerotidae
- **Genus:** Rhinoceros

## Facts at a glance

| Attribute | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Scientific name | Rhinoceros unicornis |
| Diet | Grasses, leaves, branches, fruit, and aquatic plants |
| Habitat | Tall alluvial grasslands and riverine forest of the Terai and Brahmaputra floodplains |
| Lifespan | 35–45 years in the wild |
| Weight | 1,800–2,700 kg (4,000–6,000 lb); males heavier than females |
| Top speed | Up to 55 km/h (34 mph) in a charge |
| Conservation status | Vulnerable (IUCN) |

## Armour and a single horn

The Indian rhino's grey skin hangs in deep folds studded with rivet-like bumps, giving it the look of riveted plate armour. Both sexes carry a single horn of pure keratin — the same material as fingernails — that can reach about 60 cm. Only the African white rhino outweighs it among living rhinos.

## Behaviour

Indian rhinos are largely solitary, meeting at shared dung heaps that serve as community notice boards. They are semi-aquatic: they wallow for hours in rivers and pools to cool off and protect their skin, feed mostly at dawn and dusk, and despite their bulk can charge at 55 km/h.

## Diet

Tall grasses are the staple, folded into the mouth with a flexible, almost prehensile upper lip; the rhino also browses leaves and fruit and wades belly-deep to graze aquatic plants. One adult can consume a large share of its body weight in vegetation over a few days of feeding.

## Habitat and range

The species once ranged across the northern Indian subcontinent from Pakistan to Myanmar; today it survives only in protected pockets of Nepal and India. Kaziranga National Park in Assam holds roughly two-thirds of the world population, with important herds in Chitwan (Nepal), Pobitora, Orang, and Manas.

## Reproduction

Females give birth to a single calf after a gestation of about fifteen to sixteen months — one of the longest of any land mammal. The calf, born hornless and weighing around 40–60 kg, stays with its mother for two to four years until she calves again.

## Conservation

Fewer than 200 Indian rhinos survived in the early twentieth century; strict protection, anti-poaching patrols, and translocations have raised the total to around 4,000, one of conservation's great recoveries. The species is nonetheless still Vulnerable: poaching for horn, floodplain habitat loss, and increasingly severe monsoon floods remain serious threats.

## Frequently asked questions

### How many Indian rhinos are left?

Around 4,000, the great majority in India's Kaziranga National Park and Nepal's Chitwan. That is a recovery from under 200 a century ago, achieved through armed protection and reintroductions.

### Why are Indian rhinos poached?

For their horn, which is made of keratin — like hair and nails — but commands high prices in illegal wildlife markets for use in traditional medicine, despite having no proven medicinal effect.

### Where do Indian rhinos live?

Only in Nepal and northeast India today: Kaziranga, Pobitora, Orang, and Manas in Assam, plus small populations in West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh, and Chitwan and Bardia in Nepal.

### How many horns does an Indian rhino have?

One — which is why it is also called the greater one-horned rhinoceros. African rhinos and the Sumatran rhino have two.

### Is the Indian rhino dangerous?

It can be. Mothers with calves and surprised adults may charge at up to 55 km/h, and rhinos injure people every year in and around parks. They are best observed at a distance.

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Source: Global Animal Guide (https://globalanimalguide.org/animals/indian-rhinoceros/). Licensed CC BY-NC 4.0 — free for non-commercial reuse with attribution.