Black Rhino

The word Rhinoceros comes from the Greek word rhino, meaning nose, and ceros, meaning horn. The Black Rhinoceros is the most well-known of the five living rhinoceros species. Like the White Rhinoceros, the Black Rhinoceros is brownish gray in color.


A main feature of the Black Rhinoceros is its prehensile lip; its lips look like a hook and work like fingers, grasping and pulling leaves and shrubs into its mouth. This huge animal can run fast at 40 miles per hour, almost as fast as a car on the highway! They look for food in the early morning and late afternoon; the rest of the day, they rest in the shade or go "swimming" in the water pools, coating their skin with mud for their "sunscreen" and to make biting flies avoid them.

There are two horns on the Black Rhinoceros; the front horn is the much larger one. Rhino horns grow as much as three inches a year and can grow up to 5 feet! Female rhinos use their horns to protect their babies, while male rhinos use their horns to fight off attackers.

In 1970, there were 70,000 Black Rhinos in the world. Today, there are only 3,600. This drastic fall in the Black Rhinoceros population is the main reason why this huge animal is a CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES. Some reasons why they are endangered:
1. Hunting - Poachers hunt the Black Rhinoceros for its horn. People in Asia use the horns for medicinal use, while people in North Africa and the Middle East want the horn material to make knife handles.

2. Habitat destruction -The Black Rhino lives in open grasslands and plains. As the people move into these places and develop them for homes and buildings, the White Rhino is left with smaller and smaller places to live.
Black Rhino Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Diceros Bicornis
Type: Mammal
Diet: Herbivore
Height: 11 to 13.75 feet
Weight: 3,168 to 7,920 pounds
Range: Africa, India, Southeast Asia
Diet: Watergrass and leaves


To make a Black Rhinoceros Paper Model, click on the image or here.

The Siberian Tiger

The Siberian Tiger is the world's largest cat. Other names for this feline are Amur Tiger, Manchurian Tiger and Ussuri Tiger. Local people think of the Siberian Tiger as almost God-like and refer to it as "Grandfather" or "Old Man" with respect. Even the most elite unit of the Chinese Imperial Army in the Manchu Qing Dynasty is called Hu Shen Yin, meaning "The Tiger God Army".


Among the tiger subspecies, the Siberian Tiger is the larges, with male Siberian Tigers as long as a stationwagon! The Siberian Tiger has the palest orange coat and the fewest stripes. Each tiger has its own stripe pattern, just the way humans have fingerprints. Researchers can identify individual tigers by their unique stripes.

Tigers are very patient, following their prey for 20 to 30 minutes before pouncing. They used their powerful jaws to grab a prey by the neck to suffocate it. Tigers' rough tongues are used to scrape of the last bits of meat from the bones of the meal. Tigers rely on their colors as camouflage; their black stripes provide the perfect cover while they wait for prey in the tall grass.

Despite the fact that the Siberian Tiger (and other tigers) is a symbol of strenth and courage and are admired, there are only 450 Siberian Tigers left on the CRITICALLY ENDANGERED SPECIES list. Most of these large cats are already in zoos and are protected. The Siberian Tiger is not that difficult to breed in captivity; it is when they are released in the wild that they are not able to survive. Some reasons for the endangered classification of the Siberian Tiger include:
1. Hunting - The Siberia Tiger is hunted mainly for sport. Others hunt it so that the tiger will not attack a village or livestock. Tiger parts are also valued for the medicines made out of them. Trade in tiger skin is also increasing.

2. Habitat loss - As land becomes developed to meet the demand for houses and other buildings, the environment of the Siberian Tiger shrinks as well. This includes natural prey species that the tiger hunts. With the presence of more people, even the tigers' meals are being hunted.
Siberian Tiger Fast Facts
Scientific Name: Panthera Tigris Altaica
Type: Mammal
Diet: Carnivore
Height: 10.75 feet long
Weight: 660 pounds
Range: Russia, China, North Korea
Diet: red deer, boar, hare, rabbit, fish, bears


To make your own zoo habitat for the Siberian Tiger, click on the image or here.