51-591: Groblersdal is a farming town situated 32 km north of the 178 million m³ Loskop Dam in the Sekhukhune District of Limpopo . The town is South Africa 's second largest irrigation settlement. The main crops in this man-made floodplain are cotton , tobacco , citrus fruit , table grapes , maize , wheat , vegetables , sunflower seeds , peanuts , lucerne and peaches , although not in order of importance as some previously leading crops e.g. tobacco, have made way for others such as grapes. Groblersdal
102-435: A herbivorous diet, small brains 400–600 g (14–21 oz) for mammals of their size, one or two horns, and a thick 1.5–5 cm (0.59–1.97 in), protective skin formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure. They generally eat leafy material, although their ability to ferment food in their hindgut allows them to subsist on more fibrous plant matter when necessary. Unlike other perissodactyls ,
153-713: A barrel chest and lived until about five million years ago. The last rhinos in the Americas became extinct during the Pliocene . Modern rhinos are thought to have begun dispersal from Asia during the Miocene . Alongside the extant species, four additional species of rhinoceros survived into the Last Glacial Period : the woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ), Elasmotherium sibiricum and two species of Stephanorhinus , Merck's rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis ) and
204-888: A breeding pair of white rhinoceros were brought there in 1963 to bear a calf there on April 11, 1964, returning the species to the area after its extinction in the Transvaal in 1896. The reserve also features other types of rhinoceros , ostriches , leopard , giraffes , blue wildebeest , zebra , among others. Rhinoceros Ceratotherium Dicerorhinus Diceros Rhinoceros † Coelodonta † Stephanorhinus † Elasmotherium Fossil genera, see text A rhinoceros ( / r aɪ ˈ n ɒ s ər ə s / ry- NOSS -ə-rəss ; from Ancient Greek ῥινόκερως ( rhinókerōs ) 'nose-horned'; from ῥίς ( rhis ) 'nose' and κέρας ( kéras ) 'horn'; pl. : rhinoceros or rhinoceroses ), commonly abbreviated to rhino ,
255-638: A distortion of either the Afrikaans word wyd or the Dutch word wijd (or its other possible spellings whyde , weit , etc.,), meaning "wide" and referring to the rhino's square lips, is not supported by linguistic studies. The white rhino has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. Females weigh 1,600 kg (3,500 lb) and males 2,400 kg (5,300 lb) on average, though exceptional specimens can reportedly weigh up to 4,500 kg (9,900 lb). The head-and-body length
306-759: A few pairs in Uttar Pradesh ) and Nepal, plus a pair in Lal Suhanra National Park in Pakistan reintroduced there from Nepal. They are confined to the tall grasslands and forests in the foothills of the Himalayas . Two-thirds of the world's Indian rhinoceroses are now confined to the Kaziranga National Park situated in the Golaghat district of Assam , India. The Javan rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros sondaicus )
357-688: A secluded area, and becomes aggressive towards other rhinoceroses for a while after giving birth. Calves typically stand up within 30 minutes of birth and being to suck on their mothers teats within 2 hours of birth. The mother generally has a strong bond with her most recently born calf. The calf generally remains close to its mother the majority of the time, although at least in some species they are sometimes left considerable distances away. Up until they are around 3 years old, juvenile rhinoceroses are vulnerable to predation. Mothers are vigorously protective of their calves against potential predators. Juvenile one-horned rhinoceroses are rejected by their mothers around
408-461: A single horn 20 to 60 cm long. It is nearly as large as the African white rhino. Its thick, silver-brown skin folds into the shoulder, back, and rump, giving it an armored appearance. Its upper legs and shoulders are covered in wart -like bumps, and it has very little body hair. Grown males are larger than females in the wild, weighing from 2,500–3,200 kg (5,500–7,100 lb). Shoulder height
459-463: Is 1.75–2.0 m (5.7–6.6 ft). Females weigh about 1,900 kg (4,200 lb) and are 3–4 m (9.8–13 ft) long. The record-sized specimen was approximately 4,000 kg (8,800 lb). Indian rhinos once inhabited many areas ranging from Pakistan to Myanmar and maybe even parts of China. Because of humans, they now exist in only several protected areas of India (in Assam , West Bengal, and
510-448: Is 3.5–4.6 m (11–15 ft) and the shoulder height is 1.8–2 m (5.9–6.6 ft). On its snout it has two horns . The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 90 cm (35 in) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 in). The white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its relatively large head. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey. Most of its body hair
561-586: Is a combined gravity and arch type dam located on the Olifants River , near Groblersdal , Mpumalanga , South Africa . It was established in 1939 and has been renovated in 1979. The dam is situated in the Loskop Dam Nature Reserve and it serves mainly for irrigation purposes. The hazard potential of the dam has been ranked high (3). A popular vacation spot that irrigates the majority of the Bushveld ,
SECTION 10
#1732863343208612-439: Is a member of any of the five extant species (or numerous extinct species) of odd-toed ungulates in the family Rhinocerotidae ; it can also refer to a member of any of the extinct species of the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea . Two of the extant species are native to Africa, and three to South and Southeast Asia. Rhinoceroses are some of the largest remaining megafauna : all weigh at least one tonne in adulthood. They have
663-570: Is bought by wealthy consumers to use in traditional Chinese medicine , among other uses. Rhino horns are made of keratin , the same material as hair and fingernails , and there is no good evidence of any health benefits. A market also exists for rhino horn dagger handles in Yemen, which was the major source of demand for rhino horn in the 1970s and 1980s. Ceratotherium simum Diceros bicornis Dicerorhinus sumatrensis Rhinoceros sondaicus Rhinoceros unicornis The word rhinoceros
714-586: Is derived through Latin from the Ancient Greek : ῥινόκερως , which is composed of ῥινο- ( rhino- , "of the nose") and κέρας ( keras , " horn ") with a horn on the nose. The name has been in use since the 14th century. The family Rhinocerotidae consists of only four extant genera: Ceratotherium (white rhinoceros), Diceros (black rhinoceros), Dicerorhinus (Sumatran rhinoceros), and Rhinoceros (Indian and Javan rhinoceros). The living species fall into three categories. The two African species,
765-506: Is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles, with the rest distributed rather sparsely over the rest of the body. White rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth that is used for grazing. The name "black rhinoceros" ( Diceros bicornis ) was chosen to distinguish this species from the white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum ). This can be confusing, as the two species are not truly distinguishable by color. There are four subspecies of black rhino: South-central ( Diceros bicornis minor ),
816-553: Is one of the most endangered large mammals in the world. According to 2015 estimates, only about 60 remain, in Java, Indonesia, all in the wild. It is also the least known rhino species. Like the closely related, and larger, Indian rhinoceros , the Javan rhino has a single horn. Its hairless, hazy gray skin falls into folds into the shoulder, back, and rump, giving it an armored appearance. Its length reaches 3.1–3.2 m (10–10 ft) including
867-726: Is reported of Zimbabwe, while Nepal has largely avoided the crisis. Poachers have become more sophisticated. South African officials have called for urgent action against poaching after poachers killed the last female rhino in the Krugersdorp Game Reserve near Johannesburg . Statistics from South African National Parks show that 333 rhinoceroses were killed in South Africa in 2010, increasing to 668 by 2012, over 1,004 in 2013, and over 1,338 killed in 2015. In some cases rhinos are tranquilized and their horns removed leaving them to bleed to death, while in other instances more than
918-547: Is the smallest extant rhinoceros species, as well as the one with the most hair. It can be found at very high altitudes in Borneo and Sumatra . Because of habitat loss and poaching , their numbers have declined, and it has become the second most threatened rhinoceros. About 275 Sumatran rhinos are believed to remain. There are three subspecies of Sumatran rhinoceros: the Sumatran rhinoceros proper ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis sumatrensis ),
969-539: The Bornean rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis harrissoni ) and the possibly extinct Northern Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis lasiotis ). A mature rhino typically stands about 1.3 m (4 ft 3 in) high at the shoulder, has a length of 2.4–3.2 m (7 ft 10 in – 10 ft 6 in) and weighs around 700 kg (1,500 lb), though the largest individuals have been known to weigh as much as 1,000 kilograms (2,200 lb). Like
1020-758: The Indian rhinoceros and the Javan rhinoceros , which diverged from one another about 10 million years ago. The Sumatran rhinoceros is the only surviving representative of the Dicerorhinini. A subspecific hybrid white rhino ( Ceratotherium s. simum × C. s. cottoni ) was bred at the Dvůr Králové Zoo (Zoological Garden Dvur Kralove nad Labem) in the Czech Republic in 1977. Interspecific hybridisation of black and white rhinoceroses has also been confirmed. While
1071-647: The Narrow-nosed rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) . The woolly rhinoceros appeared in China around 1 million years ago and first arrived in Europe around 600,000 years ago. It reappeared 200,000 years ago, alongside the woolly mammoth , and became numerous. Elasmotherium was two meters tall, five meters long and weighed around five tons, with a single enormous horn, hypsodont teeth and long legs for running. The latest known well dated bones of Elasmotherium in found in
SECTION 20
#17328633432081122-401: The northern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum cottoni ). As of 2013, the southern subspecies has a wild population of 20,405—making them the most abundant rhino subspecies in the world. The northern subspecies is critically endangered, with all that is known to remain being two captive females. There is no conclusive explanation of the name "white rhinoceros". A popular idea that "white" is
1173-476: The white rhinoceros and the black rhinoceros , belong to the tribe Dicerotini, which originated in the middle Miocene , about 14.2 million years ago. The species diverged during the early Pliocene (about 5 million years ago). The main difference between black and white rhinos is the shape of their mouths – white rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing, whereas black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage. There are two living Rhinocerotini species,
1224-632: The 1930s they were nearly hunted to extinction in Nepal, India, Burma, Peninsular Malaysia , and Sumatra for the supposed medical powers of their horns and blood. As of 2015, only 58–61 individuals remain in Ujung Kulon National Park , Java, Indonesia. The last known Javan rhino in Vietnam was reportedly killed for its horn in 2011 by Vietnamese poachers. Now only Java contains the last Javan rhinos. The Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis )
1275-419: The 20th century, their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the late 1960s to a record low of 2,410 in 1995. Since then, numbers have been steadily increasing at a continental level with numbers doubling to 4,880 by the end of 2010. As of 2008, the numbers are still 90% lower than three generations ago. The Indian rhinoceros , or greater one-horned rhinoceros, ( Rhinoceros unicornis ) has
1326-477: The African species, it has two horns; the larger is the front (25–79 centimetres (9.8–31.1 in)), with the smaller usually less than 10 centimetres (3.9 in) long. Males have much larger horns than the females. Hair can range from dense (the densest hair in young calves) to sparse. The color of these rhinos is reddish brown. The body is short and has stubby legs. The lip is prehensile . Sumatran rhinoceros once were spread across South-east Asia, but now are on
1377-448: The Eocene epoch and lived until the early Miocene . The first paraceratheres were only about the size of large dogs, growing progressively larger in the late Eocene and Oligocene. The largest genus of the family was Paraceratherium , which was more than twice as heavy as a bull African elephant, and was one of the largest land mammals that ever lived. The family of all modern rhinoceroses,
1428-598: The Loskop Dam was first proposed in 1905 and started as a private cooperative scheme by landowners along the Olifants in 1930, but officially only endorsed by the government in 1934. In 1939, the project was completed under the auspices of the Department of Irrigation (today's Department of Environmental Affairs ) at a cost of R5 million, employing among others Willem J. Grobler, on whose Klipbank Farm his namesake town of Groblersdal
1479-591: The Rhinocerotidae, first appeared in the Late Eocene in Eurasia. The earliest members of Rhinocerotidae were small and numerous; at least 26 genera lived in Eurasia and North America until a wave of extinctions in the middle Oligocene wiped out most of the smaller species. Several independent lineages survived. Menoceras , a pig-sized rhinoceros, had two horns side by side. The North American Teleoceras had short legs,
1530-577: The Sumatran rhinoceros. To conserve it, they would have to relocate them from small forests to breeding programs that could monitor their breeding success. To boost reproduction, the Malaysian and Indonesian governments could also agree to exchange the gametes of the Sumatran and (smaller) Bornean subspecies. The Indonesian and Malaysian governments have also proposed a single management unit for these two ancient subspecies. Plantations for palm oil have taken out
1581-399: The black rhinoceros has 84 chromosomes (diploid number, 2N, per cell), all other rhinoceros species have 82 chromosomes. Chromosomal polymorphism might lead to varying chromosome counts. For instance, in a study there were three northern white rhinoceroses with 81 chromosomes. There are two subspecies of white rhinoceros: the southern white rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum simum ) and
Groblersdal - Misplaced Pages Continue
1632-410: The females being smaller than the males. Two horns on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 cm (20 in) long, exceptionally up to 140 cm (55 in). Sometimes, a third smaller horn may develop. The black rhino is much smaller than the white rhino , and has a pointed mouth, which it uses to grasp leaves and twigs when feeding. During the latter half of
1683-688: The females sometimes may drive away males until they are receptive. Male rhinoceroses taste the urine of female rhinoceroses and perform a flehmen response with the upper lip to determine their reproductive status. Adult males in the vicinty of oestrous females may become aggressive towards other males. These confronations can range from ritualized behaviour, to serious fighting that can result in significant injuries. In some species, male rhinoceroses are territorial, while in other species they are not, or are only territorial depending on local environmental conditions. Females will sometimes reject males they consider undesirable, which results in them fleeing or fighting
1734-505: The head, and its height 1.5–1.7 m (4 ft 11 in – 5 ft 7 in). Adults are variously reported to weigh 900–1,400 kg (2,000–3,100 lb) or 1,360–2,000 kg (3,000–4,410 lb). Male horns can reach 26 cm (10 in) in length, while in females they are knobs or altogether absent. These animals prefer dense lowland rain forest, tall grass and reed beds that are plentiful with large floodplains and mud wallows. Though once widespread throughout Asia, by
1785-487: The horn is taken. The Namibian government has supported the practice of rhino trophy hunting as a way to raise money for conservation. Hunting licenses for five Namibian Black rhinos are auctioned annually, with the money going to the government's Game Products Trust Fund. Some conservationists and members of the public oppose or question this practice. Rhinoceros horns develop from subcutaneous tissues, and are made of keratinous mineralized compartments. The horns root in
1836-473: The living areas and led to the eradication of the rhino in Sumatra. Living rhinoceroses gregariousness varies between species. Adult males tend to be solitary, and this is also true of female Asian rhinoceroses, though the females of African species sometimes form groups, with these groups being more common in white than black rhinoceroses. Rhinoceroses have widely varing diets ranging from strict grazing (such as
1887-515: The main standbys, as well as table grapes and vegetables on a smaller scale. On March 6, 1940, the Transvaal Provincial Council established a nature reserve in the area, a popular angling spot for Mozambique tilapia , redbreast tilapia , yellowfish , carp , mudfish , and eel . Boasting a modern RV park and extensive recreational facilities, the reserve covers 12,700 ha. Large game has been bred there since 1948 - indeed,
1938-410: The male if cornered. During copulation, the male slides his neck up the back of the female, before using his neck as a lever to get his forelegs off the ground, before moving the front legs behind the shoulders of the female. Copulation can last several hours. Pregnancy lasts for over a year, around 460 days in the black rhinoceros and 504 days in the white rhinoceros. The female generally gives birth in
1989-436: The mid-Eocene to early Oligocene. The Amynodontidae, also known as "aquatic rhinos", dispersed across North America and Eurasia , from the late Eocene to early Oligocene . The amynodontids were hippopotamus -like in their ecology and appearance, inhabiting rivers and lakes, and sharing many of the same adaptations to aquatic life as hippos. The Paraceratheriidae, also known as paraceratheres or indricotheres, originated in
2040-499: The most numerous, which once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa; South-western ( Diceros bicornis occidentalis ) which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia, southern Angola, western Botswana and western South Africa; East African ( Diceros bicornis michaeli ), primarily in Tanzania; and West African ( Diceros bicornis longipes ) which
2091-624: The relationships of recent and Late Pleistocene rhinoceros species (minus Stephanorhinus hemitoechus) based on whole nuclear genomes, after Liu et al., 2021: † Elasmotherium sibiricum White Rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum ) Black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis ) † Woolly rhinoceros ( Coelodonta antiquitatis ) † Merck's rhinoceros ( Stephanorhinus kirchbergensis ) Sumatran rhinoceros ( Dicerorhinus sumatrensis ) Javan rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros sondaicus ) Indian rhinoceros ( Rhinoceros unicornis ) † denotes extinct taxa Adult rhinoceroses have no real predators in
Groblersdal - Misplaced Pages Continue
2142-551: The south of Western Siberia (the area that is today Kazakhstan) date as recently as 39,000 years ago. The origin of the two living African rhinos can be traced to the late Miocene ( 6 mya ) species Ceratotherium neumayri . The lineages containing the living species diverged by the early Pliocene , when Diceros praecox , the likely ancestor of the black rhinoceros, appears in the fossil record. The black and white rhinoceros remain so closely related that they can still mate and successfully produce offspring. Cladogram showing
2193-804: The time of the birth of her next calf. Rhinocerotoids diverged from other perissodactyls by the early Eocene . Fossils of Hyrachyus eximus found in North America date to this period. This small hornless ancestor resembled a tapir or small horse more than a rhino. Four families, sometimes grouped together as the superfamily Rhinocerotoidea , evolved in the late Eocene, namely the Hyracodontidae, Amynodontidae, Paraceratheriidae and Rhinocerotidae. Hyracodontidae , also known as "running rhinos", showed adaptations for speed, and would have looked more like horses than modern rhinos. The smallest hyracodontids were dog-sized. Hyracodontids spread across Eurasia from
2244-418: The two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths; they rely instead on their lips to pluck food. Rhinoceroses are killed by poachers for their horns , which are bought and sold on the black market for high prices, leading to most living rhinoceros species being considered endangered. The contemporary market for rhino horn is overwhelmingly driven by China and Vietnam , where it
2295-411: The use of "breakers," 6-m-high structures above the walls that divert floodwaters into colliding streams called "heavy rain" with less destructive potential. 650 farms covering around 25.7 ha each use the water, including a small proportion originally reserved for the elderly and disabled. The subtropical climate supports the growth of many crops, but summer tobacco and cotton and winter wheat are
2346-526: The verge of extinction, confined to several parts of Indonesia and Malaysia by reproductive isolation. There were 320 D. sumatrensis in 1995, which, by 2011, had dwindled to 216 . It has been found through DNA comparison that the Sumatran rhinoceros is the most ancient extant rhinoceros and related to the extinct Eurasian woolly rhino species, Coelodonta . In 1994 Alan Rabinowitz publicly denounced governments, non-governmental organizations, and other institutions for lacking in their attempts to conserve
2397-487: The white rhinoceros), to largely browsing (such as the black rhinoceros) to a mixture between both (the Sumatran and Javan rhinoceros). As bulk feeders of low quality vegetation, rhinoceroses spend a majority of their time foraging. All living rhinoceroses have a polyandrous and polygnous mating system where both males and females seek to mate with multiple individuals of the opposite sex. Male rhinoceroses guard reproductive age females until they are in full estrous though
2448-516: The wild, other than humans. Young rhinos sometimes fall prey to big cats , crocodiles, African wild dogs , and hyenas . Although rhinos are large and aggressive and have a reputation for being resilient, they are very easily poached; they visit water holes daily and can be easily killed while they drink. As of December 2009, poaching increased globally while efforts to protect the rhino are considered increasingly ineffective. The most serious estimate, that only 3% of poachers are successfully countered,
2499-516: Was declared extinct in November 2011. The native Tswanan name keitloa describes a South African variation of the black rhino in which the posterior horn is equal to or longer than the anterior horn. An adult black rhinoceros stands 1.50–1.75 m (59–69 in) high at the shoulder and is 3.5–3.9 m (11–13 ft) in length. An adult weighs from 850 to 1,600 kg (1,870 to 3,530 lb), exceptionally to 1,800 kg (4,000 lb), with
2550-399: Was founded in 1938 as the canal network's hub. The scheme stretches 64 km to the north of this town, including 148 km on 2 main pipes and 330 km of branch lines irrigating 19,000 ha; 250 km of drainage canals return excess water from farm to river. Most Loskop farms use sprinklers , but a growing portion use central pivot irrigation . An innovative feature of the dam is
2601-410: Was laid out on the farm "Klipbank" taking advantage of the Loskop Dam, and named after the original owner WJ Grobler. Notable people from Groblersdal include Roma Blecher, noted philanthropist and Shakespeare scholar, and South African Test bowler Duanne Olivier (born 1992). This Limpopo location article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Loskop Dam Loskop Dam
SECTION 50
#1732863343208#207792