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Rhino
Large and in charge!!!
The Rhinoceros is a primitive looking mammal that dates back millions of years and represents the unknown, which makes game viewers all the more eager to understand the habits of this enigmatic animal.
This mammoth mammal is characterized by a large, hefty body, covered in a thick protective skin, and easily weighing up to a ton or more. Rhinos are herbivores, generally eating leafy materials, and have small brains in relation to other mammals of their size; they also have an acute sense of smell and hearing, but have poor eyesight. On average, most rhinos will live up to 60 years of age. In the Kruger National Park, visitors can look forward to viewing the White rhino, which is an incredible feat considering they neared extinction in 1896.
Thanks largely to successful conservation measures in 1961, the Kruger Park was able to re-introduce 337 rhinos and now safeguards the highest number of these species in the world. Though, these animals were once threatened with extinction, visitors to the Kruger Park are likely to encounter them frequently in the various regions. Poaching is an obvious problem in the declining population of the rhino; without a doubt, this animal’s most prized asset is its horn. Unlike other horns, the rhino horn is totally made up out of Keratin – the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails – and lacks a bony core that is found in other horns. Rhino horns are particularly utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as well as for dagger handles that are used in countries such as Yemen and Oman. Because of the ever-declining rhino population, various efforts are being introduced to stop the poaching of these animals.
One such effort has been to tranquilize rhinos before removing their horns, while some sections have urged practitioners of TCM to use substitutions in their treatments as opposed to the actual horns. Visitors to the Kruger National Park can do their bit to conserve this important animal by learning about it during their stay and acknowledging the vital part they should play for generations to come.