|  Indian Rhinoceros they are internationally known as Great Indian One Horned Rhinoceros. Massively giant in size next to Indian Elephant. Long back it was found all over India in grassy flood plains of Indus, Ganga and Brahmaputra. Now as the marshes, grassland and swamps has turned into farmland so it is now only restricted on the bank of Brahmaputra. They have skin with loose folds which makes it look like wearing a coat of armour. The color is normally dark brown or blackish and also gray in some cases. This is the major difference between African,black and white rhinos and Indian Rhinos and even the single horn of Indian Rhinos and two horns on African Rhinos. The weight of a female is generally 1600 kg and of a male rhino is 2200 kg and having a height of 1.5 to 1.8 m and approximately 3.6 m long. The horn of the Rhinoceros is seen after they are a year old and the size of the the horn grows to 20-60 cm.
These one-horned rhino nature wise prefer to be alone and spend hours in wallowing in mud and water they are normally vegetarian and feed on grasses, reeds, fruits, leaves, crops and twigs. The structure of their upper lip helps them to eat out tall elephant grasses which they like the most. It even helps them to pull out the aquatic plants from there roots. Indian Rhinos prefer to move in the morning and evening to avoid heat during day time. The life of a rhino is normally 40 years and It usually restricts its movement in the area of 5 sq km. The male rhino sometimes go beyond this range in search of their mates. Special feature of these rhino's is the noisy fight that takes place between a male and a female at the time of mating. Rhinos at times are unbelievably mentally quick even after having a bulk and growth and they can run at a speed of 4 to 8 km per hour but for short distance they can run at a speed of 55 kmph. The eyesight is poor but have sharp sense of smell and hearing.
The population of the rhino is decreasing due to destruction of their natural habitat. The use of medicinal properties of other parts of the body and mythical aphrodisiacal properties of its horn which alone can fetch 20,000 US dollars and even more in international market.
Indian wildlife authorities are now making efforts at rhino preservation. The translocation projects are going on for this. The One-horned Rhinos can be found in the national reserves of Kaziranga, Manas and Jaldapara.
At an early time these Indian rhinos were found at the foothills of the Hindu Kush west of Peshawar in Pakistan in early 1500's which is across sub-Himalayan region on the eastern edge of Brahmaputra watershed. After 19 th century these rhinos were removed from everywhere except the Chitwan Valley in Nepal. Mainly five types of Rhinos are found in India Indian Rhino, White Rhino, Black Rhino, Javan Rhino, Sumatran Rhino. Amongst which the white and black rhinos are found in Africa and the other three are mainly found in India and neighbouring countries like in North of Pakistan, Assam in India, Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh.
The Indian Rhino is primarily a grazer and when they are not grazing on land they immerse themselves into water where they can find grass like plants.
 They are found on the bank of Brahmaputra river and so are covered in the Kaziranaga National Park which is covered in an area of 430 sq.km. Due to hunting and poaching when the count reached to an alarming point this area was covered under wildlife conservation in 1926. The place was declared as a sanctuary in 1940.
The Zoological name of Indian Rhino is Rhinoceros Unicornis. In National parks worldwide the approximate population is 2400 of which 1600 are in India mainly in Kaziranga and Manas wildlife Sancttuaries in Assam in North East India.
One can find Rhino in Manas national Park but actually the park is famous for its population of Golden Langurs.
By early travelers the Rhinos were described as a unicorn due to its single horn. The newly born calves live with their mother for several years. Male Rhinos fight for their territory and during mating season. Rhino's use their horn to threat and attack on any intruders and other male Rhinos.
Sexual maturity in males is when they get 7-9 years old and a female Rhino when she is 3 years old. The female Rhino Indian Rhino is ready to mate for 24 hours every 5-8 weeks and to attract a male rhino she sprays her urine and makes a gentle whistling sound. The female looks for a dense cover to give birth to the new ones. The newly born calf stays with her mother till she is ready to give birth of her next offspring which is normally 18 months to 24 months.
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