Animals that start with R

Rhinoceros

Rhinos may look tough, but they’re really just big softies! Explore our rhino fun facts for kids and meet these gentle giants up close! Ready to join Albert as he explores amazing rhinoceros facts for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners? Click on the images to hear silly sounds and then read about fun rhino facts like what do rhinos look like?, what sound do rhinos make?, how big are rhinos?, what do rhinos eat?, where do rhinos live?, and more fun facts about rhinos for kids!

What do rhinos look like?

Rhinos are mammals which means that they are warm-blooded, have fur or hair and they feed milk to their babies.

Rhinos are big animals with thick skin and one or two horns on their face. They have small eyes, large ears, fat legs and tails.

What sound do rhinos make?

Click the the image to hear the sound!

Rhinos can make long snorting noises as well as grunts, growls, honks, sneezes and moos. Baby rhinos can also squeak like a mouse!

How big are rhinos?

There are different types of rhinos and some weigh as much as 2 cars (3 tons)!

They stand at 3-5 feet (90-150 centimeters) tall.

What do rhinos eat?

Rhinos are herbivores. This means that they only eat plants.

White rhinos have very square and flat mouths which helps them graze the savannah for grass. Black rhinos have pointed, triangular shaped mouths which help them to browse the leaves from trees.

Javan and Sumatran rhinos are also browsers. They like eating leaves, fruit, twigs and bark. They even eat from coffee and rubber trees!

The greater one-horned rhino eats over 180 different types of plants!

Where do rhinos live?

There are 5 types of rhinos in the world – two in Africa, and three in Asia.

Rhinos live in the savannah and open grasslands. They also live amongst thorny trees and bushes.

Some spend a lot of time in water and live in swamps and jungles. The one-horned rhino likes water so much that it sometimes feeds underwater!

More fun facts about rhinos for kids

Rhino horns are made from the same stuff that our fingernails and toenails are made from.
Asian rhinos are excellent swimmers, but African rhinos aren’t and struggle to stay afloat.
Rhinos love mud. They wallow in wet stocky mud. This covers their body and protects them from flies, parasites and the sun. Imagine rubbing mud all over you the next time you go out in the sun!
Rhinos mark their territory with poo and pee. This is so smelly that it tells other rhinos who lives there and to keep away.
Rhinos are friends with birds called ox peckers. These are little birds that sit on a rhino’s back and peck all the ticks and flies that are on the rhino’s skin. The bird gets a tasty meal, and the rhinos are kept tick-free.
A group of rhinos is called a crash!
Rhinos can run at 35 mph (56 kph).
The name ‘rhinoceros’ means ‘nose horn’.
Rhinos are under threat because some people think their horns can help you if you’re sick. Poachers kill rhinos and cut off their horns. If rhino horn is made of the same stuff as fingernails, why don’t the people just bite their fingernails to get better?!

Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Creative Commons, Britannica.com and Freesound.org