I released a new rhinoceros applique pattern last week. The old rhino had no smile, no eyelashes and (the biggest problem of all) just one horn.
I volunteer at the Oregon Zoo and the rhinos are part of my territory, so I’ve learned a LOT more about them since I designed that early pattern several years ago. 🥰
Here are some of my favorite rhino facts.
There are five species of rhinos still living in the world. Both African species (white and black rhinos) have two horns, so including a one-horned rhino in a quilt of African animals was a big oops. 😬 The other three species live in Asia. Indian and Javan rhinos have just one horn. Sumatran rhinos have two, just like their African cousins.
We call African rhinos white rhinos and black rhinos, but the names have nothing to do with their color. White rhinos have a wide, flat upper lip. We call them “white” because the Dutch word for wide (referring to their lips) sounds like white. 🙄 Black rhinos have kind of a pointy upper lip that they can actually use to grab things - like a tiny little trunk. We call them black because. . . ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Really we should call them wide and pointy rhinos. This site has really excellent photos of their upper lips, if you want to see what I’m talking about.
Rhino horns are made of keratin - the same stuff that makes up our hair and nails. Pieces will occasionally chip off (just like us breaking a nail) but it doesn’t bother them and it will grow back.
There used to be a very hairy rhino species called a wooly rhino (if you’ve read Clan of the Cave Bear you’re familiar with this guy) but today most rhinos only have a tiny bit of hair on the tips of their ears and the tip of their tail. The exception is the Sumatran rhino, which still has a full coat of hair. It’s not as dense and shaggy as the wooly rhino (see some paintings here) but it’s definitely hairier than the others.
Rhinos are FAST. Most of the time they’re just standing around eating (they’re herbivores, so they spend most of their day grazing) but when they move, they MOVE. I’ve seen the baby rhino at the zoo doing zoomies around his habitat with his mom, and they are fast and much more nimble than you’d expect from such a solid-looking critter. It’s fun to see them really move!
Do you have a favorite rhino fact you’d like to share?
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Enjoy!
Best,
Wendi
❤️
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This reminds me of a recent news article about saving rhinos from poaching- scientists are injecting their horns with radioactive isotopes so they will set off alarms at airports! https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/radioactive-rhino-horns-1.7599955
We have a name based off the *SOUND* of a word and not its MEANING!?
I mean, we could have had "breed" rhinos, because that also means wide (and is perhaps used more often in contemporary Dutch), instead of "wijd." Animal naming conventions are wild.
My only "fact," such as it is, is that rhinos used to be considered pachyderms, because that essentially means thick skin. Their closest living relatives are tapirs, horses and zebras, though, so that didn't fly for long.