RHINOCEROS, in natural history, a genus of matninalia of the order Perm, Generic character : horn solid, perennial, conical, seated on the nose, but not ad hering to the bone This quadruped is exceeded in size only by the elephant. Its usual length, not including the tail, is twelve feet ; and the circumference of its body nearly the same. Its nose is armed with a horny substance, project ing, in the full grown animal, nearly three feet, and is a weapon of defenCe, which almost secures it from every attack. Even the tiger, with all his ferocity, is but very rarely daring enough to assail the rhinoceros. Its upper lip is of con siderable length and pliability, acting like a species of snout, grasping the shoots of trees and various substances, conveys them to the mouth, and it is ca pable of extension and contraction at the animal's convenience. The skin is, in some parts, so thick and hard as scarcely to be penetrable by the sharpest sabre, or even by a musket-ball. These animals are to be found in Bengal, Siam, China, and in several countries of Africa ; but are far less numerous than the elephant, and of sequestered solitary habits. The female produces only one at a birth ; and at the age of two years the horn is only an inch long, and at six, only of the length of nine inches. The rhinoceros is not ferocious unless when provoked, when he exhibits paroxisms of rage and madness, and is highly dangerous to those who encounter him. He runs with great swiftness, and rushes through brakes and woods with an energy to which every thing yields. It is generally, however, quiet and inoffensive. Its food consists entirely of vegetables, the tender branches of trees, and succulent herbage, of which it will devour immense quanti ties. It delights in retired and cool situa tions, near lakes and streams, and ap pears to derive one of the highest satis factions from the practice of rolling and wallowing in mud ; in this respect bear ing a striking resemblance to the hog.
This animal was exhibited, by Augus tus, to the Romans, and is supposed to be the unicorn of the scripture, as it pos sesses the properties ascribed to that animal, of magnitude, strength, and swift ness, in addition to that- peculiarity of a single horn, which may be considered as establishing their identity. This ani mal can distinguish, by its sight, only what is directly before it, and always, when pursued, takes the course immedi ately before him, almost without the slightest deviation from a right line, re moving every impediment. Its sense of
smelling is very acute, and also of hear ing, and, on both these accounts, the hunters approach him against the wind. In general, they watch his lying down to sleep, when, advancing with the greatest circumspection, they discharge their muskets into his belly. The flesh is eaten both in Africa and India.
R. or the two-horned rhinoce ros, is similar in size and manners to the former, and is principally distinguished from it by having two horns on its nose ; th e ii rst being always the largest,and some• times a foot and a half in length. 'These horny substances are said to be loose when the animal reposes, or is calm, but to be erected irremoveably when he is highly agitated ; a circumstance asserted by Dr. Sparman, though ridiculed by Mr. Bruce. It is, however, observed by Dr. Shaw, that, on inspection of the horns and the skin on which they are seated, they do not appear firmly attached to the bone of the cranium. This animal, after having devoured the foliage of trees, rips up their trunks, and dividing them with his horns into a sort of laths, fills his im mense jaws with these fruits of his labour, and masticates them with as much facili. ty as an ox does grass. Its swiftness is great considering its bulk, but its securi ty arises not so much from speed as from its directing its course to thickets and woods, where sapless trees are broken by its violence, and green ones, after yielding to it, recoil upon the pursuers, and strike them from their horns sometimes with fatal consequences. In an open plain the horse speedily overtakes him, on which he makes a thrust with his horn at the horse, which the latter easily evades by its agility. A man at this moment drops from behind the chief horseman, with a spear, and, as the rhinoceros sees only immediately before bhn, wounds him in the tendons of his heels, and thus totally disables him from further motion. He is also occasionally taken by night while rolling himself in mire, in which lie ap pears to experience a rapture which de prives him of all suspicion and vigilance while thus abandoning himself to trans. port, the hunters approach and fix a mor tal wound, by their spears or muskets, in his belly. See Mammalia, Plate XVIII. fig. 5.