Indian Rhinoceros

The Indian rhinoceros lives primarily in northern India and Nepal. These massive beasts have some noticeable physical differences from their African relatives. Their segmented hide looks like a formidable coat of natural body armor. It functions a bit like one also: Flexible skin between the thicker hide “plates” allows them to shift as the rhinoceros moves.

As their Latin name Rhinoceros unicornis suggests, Indian rhinos have only one horn.

Like other rhinos, these animals have sharp hearing and a keen sense of smell. They may find one another by following the trail of scent each enormous animal leaves behind it on the landscape. An Indian rhino can move very quickly when aroused. Their charges have been clocked at 30 miles an hour.

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