Rhino horn is made up of

When rhino poaching reached a crisis level in 2014, wildlife managers in southern Africa turned to a last-ditch defense. They started sawing off horns, which doesn’t hurt rhinos, but may dissuade poachers from killing the endangered animals. Now, researchers have for the first time shown that this conservation practice changes the behavior of black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis), making the animals roam far less widely and presumably interact less with other rhinos. The discovery, reported today in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, raises important questions, says Michael Knight, chair of the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s African Rhino Specialist Group, who was not involved with the study. “Maybe we’re impacting the social fabric. Is that going to impact the potential that a population can breed as well as they [could] before?” And Wayne Linklater, a wildlife ecologist at California State University, Sacramento, worries that the shyness of dehorned rhinos might ultimately make managed populations less wild. The black rhino, which lives only in Africa, is critically endangered. Only about 6200 remain in the wild, mainly in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. Although the population overall is growing slowly, poaching holds back the species’ recovery. White rhinos ( Ceratotherium simum), also limited to Africa, are more common—with a total population of about 22,100—but are still categorized as near-threatened because of poaching...

Rhinoceros: odd-toed ungulates (hoofed mammals) in the family Rhinocerotidae. AKA: Rhino Kingdom: | Animalia Phylum: | Chordata Class: | Mammalia Order: | Perissodactyla Family: | Rhinocerotidae While nearly 100 known rhinoceros species have existed throughout the eons, there are currently five species of living rhinos. Two rhino species can be found in Africa and three species can be found in Asia. The two African species are the black rhino (Diceros bicornis) and the white rhino (Ceratotherium simum). The three Asian species are the Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis), the Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus), and the greater one-horned rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis). While 500,000 rhinos roamed Africa and Asia at the beginning of the 20th century, rhino numbers dropped to 70,000 by 1970. Now, as few as 29,000 rhinos remain in the wild. The remaining rhinos can be found outside national parks and reserves. Three species of rhino (black, Javan, and Sumatran) are critically endangered. Size and Weight: Rhinos vary in size and weight depending on the species. Their height can range from 4 to 10 feet. Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of the living rhinos. On average, their height is between 3.3 and 5 feet, their length is between 6.5 and 13 feet, and their weight is 1,320 to 2,090 pounds. Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African rhino species. On average, their height is 5.2 feet and their weight is between 1,720 and 3,080 pounds. The white rhino is the larger Afric...

During another trip abroad you find yourself strolling down a narrow side street in Beijing. You stop in front of a teeny tiny pharmacy overflowing with mysterious-looking items and emanating unidentifiable odors. You are immediately intrigued and enter. You point to a pile of waxy-looking round-shaped objects and ask the pharmacist what it is. Here's what he tells you: It is a cure that is made from rhino horn. For centuries, rhino horn has been used in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) to treat a wide variety of illnesses ranging from reducing fevers to stopping nosebleeds and preventing strokes. You learn that rhino horn is processed into pills, tablets, treatments, and tonics and sold worldwide. What the practitioner doesn't tell you (and, sometimes they don't know) is that rhinos are extremely endangered, mostly due to illegal trade. Currently, fewer than 14,000 rhinos exist in the wild. If illegal trade is not snuffed out and rhino horn substitutes are not promoted by specialists as an acceptable alternative, it could mean certain extinction for some of the few species whose ancestors can be traced back to the dinosaur age. World Wildlife Fund 1250 24th Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20037 • Connect with us • Facebook • Twitter • Instagram • YouTube • RSS Feeds World Wildlife Fund Inc. is a nonprofit, tax-exempt charitable organization (tax ID number 52-1693387) under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code. Donations are tax-deductible as allowed by law.

These cones do not come attached to the skull, instead being called ossicones. Skull bones are fused into one another by their own centers of ossification. The majority of rhinoceros horns curve backwards, but at some point, they will curve forward as well. They all vary in their growth rates by a few degrees halfway up the curve. Horns are made from bone. On the inside, they’re tough thanks to a thin layer of keratin, the protein that makes up your nails and hair. In general, the vast majority of that material is bone. This rhinoceros has horns that are nearly a hundred percent keratin, as opposed to the other rhinoceroses. Poachers are targeting rhinoceros horns because the horns are worth more than their weight in gold, making them a highly profitable trade. The goal of conservation efforts in South Africa is to eliminate rhinoceros horns so that they can never be recovered. What Are Rhino Horns Made Of? Credit: WorldAtlas keratin, which is the protein that makes up our hair and nails, is found in our hair. All rhinoceros species, except the Javan and greater one-horned, have two horns. keratin, which is also found in human hair and fingernails, is the primary protein in African elephants’ ivory, in addition to their tusks, horns, and teeth, is known by a variety of names. Elephant ivory is frequently limited to the tusks with a distinctive cross-hatch pattern that can be seen in the distance. The substance keratin is found in human hair and fingernails, and the horns o...

Author • Jason Gilchrist Ecologist, Edinburgh Napier University Disclosure statement Jason Gilchrist receives funding through a Research Excellence Grant from Edinburgh Napier University and from the Carnegie Trust for the Universities of Scotland Partners The Conversation UK receives funding from these organisations View the full list As the electric saw cuts into the base of the horn of the live rhino lying at my feet, I feel an uncomfortable guilt. The rhino shakes and judders and there is an unpleasant smell reminiscent of burning hair. I glance nervously at the friends around me, clad in khaki and camouflage. But luckily for this rhino, I wasn’t a poacher and there was no blood or bounty – I was there as part of a conservation drive. Just over a month ago I was involved in a local operation to de-horn white rhinoceros in South Africa. The idea is that by removing the horn, we remove the motive for poaching. However, I have a conflict of emotions about this process: taking the horn from a rhino is what the bad guys do. In an ideal world we wouldn’t do this, but it’s for the good of both the individual rhino and the species. At the end of the operation, our rhino walks off to go about its life. Much like your hair and nails, rhino horn is made up of keratin – removing it is painless and it will slowly grow back. But if poachers get to our rhino first, they will almost inevitably kill it to cut off its horn. And its death is unlikely to be painless. Moving the target Ano...

What Are Rhino Horns Made Of? ScienceDaily reported that Scientists have discovered new details about the structural materials that form the horn and the role those materials play in the development of the horn’s characteristic shape. The horns of most animals have a bony core covered by a thin sheath of keratin, the same substance as hair and nails. Rhino horns are unique, however, because they are composed entirely of keratin. Scientists had been puzzled by the difference, but an Ohio University study has revealed an interesting clue: dark patches running through the center of the horns. Black Rhino Skull The team examined the heads of rhinos and conducted CT scans on the horns. They found dense mineral deposits made of calcium and melanin in the middle. The calcium deposits make the horn core harder and stronger, and the melanin protects the core from breakdown by the sun’s UV rays. The softer outer portion of the horn weakens with sun exposure and is worn into its distinctive shape through horn clashing and by being rubbed on the ground and vegetation. The structure of the rhino horns is similar to a pencil’s tough lead core and weaker wood periphery, which allows the horns to be honed to a sharp point. Thus, the horn is not simply a clump of modified hair and most closely resembles the structure of horses’ hoofs, turtle beaks and cockatoo bills. The study also found that the melanin and calcium patches appear in yearly growth surges but the effects of temperature, die...

rhinoceros, (family Rhinocerotidae), plural rhinoceroses, rhinoceros, or rhinoceri, any of five or six species of giant Ceratotherium simum), which some divide into two species ( C. cottoni] and C. simum]), and the Rhinoceros unicornis). The white rhinoceros and the Diceros bicornis) live in Africa, while the Indian rhinoceros, the R. sondaicus), and the Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) live in Rhinoceroses have poor eyesight but Diceros bicornis) is normally ill-tempered and unpredictable and may charge any unfamiliar sound or smell. Despite their bulk, rhinoceroses are remarkably agile; the black rhinoceros can attain a speed of about 45 km (30 miles) per hour, even in thick brush, and can turn around rapidly after missing a charge. Like elephants, rhinoceroses communicate using

These cones do not come attached to the skull, instead being called ossicones. Skull bones are fused into one another by their own centers of ossification. The majority of rhinoceros horns curve backwards, but at some point, they will curve forward as well. They all vary in their growth rates by a few degrees halfway up the curve. Horns are made from bone. On the inside, they’re tough thanks to a thin layer of keratin, the protein that makes up your nails and hair. In general, the vast majority of that material is bone. This rhinoceros has horns that are nearly a hundred percent keratin, as opposed to the other rhinoceroses. Poachers are targeting rhinoceros horns because the horns are worth more than their weight in gold, making them a highly profitable trade. The goal of conservation efforts in South Africa is to eliminate rhinoceros horns so that they can never be recovered. What Are Rhino Horns Made Of? Credit: WorldAtlas keratin, which is the protein that makes up our hair and nails, is found in our hair. All rhinoceros species, except the Javan and greater one-horned, have two horns. keratin, which is also found in human hair and fingernails, is the primary protein in African elephants’ ivory, in addition to their tusks, horns, and teeth, is known by a variety of names. Elephant ivory is frequently limited to the tusks with a distinctive cross-hatch pattern that can be seen in the distance. The substance keratin is found in human hair and fingernails, and the horns o...

As the electric saw cuts into the base of the horn of the live rhino lying at my feet, I feel an uncomfortable guilt. The rhino shakes and judders and there is an unpleasant smell reminiscent of burning hair. I glance nervously at the friends around me, clad in khaki and camouflage. But luckily for this rhino, I wasn’t a poacher and there was no blood or bounty – I was there as part of a conservation drive. Just over a month ago I was involved in a local operation to de-horn white rhinoceros in South Africa. The idea is that by removing the horn, we remove the motive for poaching. However, I have a conflict of emotions about this process: taking the horn from a rhino is what the bad guys do. In an ideal world we wouldn’t do this, but it’s for the good of both the individual rhino and the species. At the end of the operation, our rhino walks off to go about its life. Much like your hair and nails, rhino horn is made up of keratin – removing it is painless and it will slowly grow back. But if poachers get to our rhino first, they will almost inevitably kill it to cut off its horn. And its death is unlikely to be painless. Moving the target Another method to put off poachers is to relocate the rhino. I’ve been involved in transporting rhino hundreds of miles away in massive crates on the back of giant trucks to move them to a safer location. De-horning and translocation both require rhino capture, helicopters, fast 4x4 drivers, wildlife vets, and a general lack of fear of a v...

What Are Rhino Horns Made Of? ScienceDaily reported that Scientists have discovered new details about the structural materials that form the horn and the role those materials play in the development of the horn’s characteristic shape. The horns of most animals have a bony core covered by a thin sheath of keratin, the same substance as hair and nails. Rhino horns are unique, however, because they are composed entirely of keratin. Scientists had been puzzled by the difference, but an Ohio University study has revealed an interesting clue: dark patches running through the center of the horns. Black Rhino Skull The team examined the heads of rhinos and conducted CT scans on the horns. They found dense mineral deposits made of calcium and melanin in the middle. The calcium deposits make the horn core harder and stronger, and the melanin protects the core from breakdown by the sun’s UV rays. The softer outer portion of the horn weakens with sun exposure and is worn into its distinctive shape through horn clashing and by being rubbed on the ground and vegetation. The structure of the rhino horns is similar to a pencil’s tough lead core and weaker wood periphery, which allows the horns to be honed to a sharp point. Thus, the horn is not simply a clump of modified hair and most closely resembles the structure of horses’ hoofs, turtle beaks and cockatoo bills. The study also found that the melanin and calcium patches appear in yearly growth surges but the effects of temperature, die...