World Rhino Day is observed annually on September 22 in an effort to draw attention to various rhinoceros species and the threats they confront. World Wildlife Fund (WWF), South Africa announced World Rhino Day in 2010 but it was in 2011 that the day gained awareness on a global scale.
There are five rhino species in the world-two African rhino species (black and white), the greater one-horned, Sumatran, and Javan rhinos. Despite being the smallest rhinoceros, Sumatran rhinos can still weigh 600kg. The largest rhino species, however, is the white rhino, which may weigh up to 3,500 kg. Notably, both black and white rhino species are neither white nor black but grey, and the difference lies in the shape of their lips. While white rhino has wide, square lip, black rhinos have a pointy upper lip.
The white rhino species, which has a population of 15,942 in the wild, is followed by the world’s remaining 4,014 greater one-horned species, according to the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The Sumatran, Javan, and Black rhinos are classified as “critically endangered” by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) because there are reportedly just 76 Javan rhinos and between 34 and 47 Sumatran rhinos surviving in the wild.
Over 2,000 of the 4,000 or so Indian rhinos, also known as greater one-horned rhinos, are housed in the three national parks of Kaziranga, Manas, and Orang, and Pobitora Wild Life Sanctuary in Northeast India’s Assam. In actuality, the state is home to more than 70% of the world’s overall rhino population. However, the animal is still threatened by habitat loss and degradation as well as poaching for its horn.
At the Bokakhat Stadium in Golaghat district, the Government of Assam officially burned 2,479 rhinoceros horns that were reconciled in honour of World Rhino Day in 2021. In six enormous furnaces at the stadium, the government incinerated more than 1,000 kg of rhino horns altogether.
Thus with an aim to raise awareness of the five rhinoceros species’ conservation, “Five Rhino Species Forever” has been chosen as the theme for this year’s World Rhino Day.
(With inputs from wwf.org.uk)