Great One Horned Rhinoceros

#GS-03 Biodiversity

Types of Rhinos:

There are five species of rhinos; white and black rhinos in Africa, and the greater one-horned, Javan and Sumatran rhino species in Asia.

Black Rhino: Critically endangered. Smaller of the two African species.
White Rhino: Near Threatened. Researchers have created an embryo of the northern white rhino by using In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) process.
One-Horned Rhino: Vulnerable
Javan: Critically Endangered
Sumatran Rhino: Critically Endangered. It has gone extinct in Malaysia.

Great One-Horned Rhino is the only Rhino species found in India and are also known as Indian Rhinos.
They are the largest Rhino species and are recognisable by a single black horn and a grey-brown hide with skin folds.
The species is restricted to small habitats in Indo-Nepal terai and northern West Bengal and Assam.
In India, rhinos are mainly found in Assam, West Bengal and Uttar Pradesh.
The Indian state of Assam is home to the largest population of greater-one horned rhinos, with more than 90% in Kaziranga National Park.
Pobitora wildlife sanctuary has the highest density of Indian one-horned rhinos in the world.

CITES Status: Appendix I

Wildlife Protection Act, 1972: Schedule I.

The five rhino range nations (India, Bhutan, Nepal, Indonesia and Malaysia) have signed a declaration ‘The New Delhi Declaration on Asian Rhinos 2019’ for the conservation and protection of the species.
Recently, the Ministry of Environment Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) has begun a project to create DNA profiles of all rhinos in the country.
National Rhino Conservation Strategy: It was launched in 2019 to conserve the greater one-horned rhinoceros.
Indian Rhino Vision 2020: Launched in 2005, it is an ambitious effort to attain a wild population of at least 3,000 greater one-horned rhinos spread over seven protected areas in the Indian state of Assam by the year 2020.