Fun Rhino Facts for Kids

Rhinos are ancient animals that have been on earth for thousands of years. Today, only five types of rhinos remain. The white and black rhinos live in Africa; Sumatran and Javan rhinos live in Indonesia, while one-horned rhinos live in India.

A Rhino Image - Science for Kids All About Rhinos — Rhinos are ancient animals that have been on earth for thousands of years. What a cool thing all about rhinos!

Rhinos sometimes attack if they’re frightened. Because of this, people think they’re mean or vicious. They are dangerous, but not because they’re mean. Rhinos have poor eyesight so they’re easily scared. An angry or scared rhino can run up to 40 miles per hour, destroying anything in its path.

White Rhino Walking Image — The white and black rhinos live in Africa.

Fun Facts about Rhinos for Kids

Rhinos are endangered. Poachers kill them for their horns, which some people believe can be used to make medicine.
White and black rhinos have two horns. Other rhinos have only one horn. The horns are made from keratin. Your fingernails and hair are made from keratin too. The horns are not magical and cannot be used for medicine. Rhinos use their horns to defend themselves.

Birds Riding the Rhino's Back Image — Tick birds ride on rhinos, eating the bugs off a rhino’s body. The ticks also squawk if danger approaches.

Rhinos eat plants and leaves.
Rhinos have sensitive skin. It gets sunburned and insects hurt it. Rhinos roll in the mud to protect their skin from sunburn and ticks.
The white rhino is the largest species of rhino and can weigh in at a whopping 2,500 kg. It can also grow to be 6 ft tall. Now that’s one large mammal.
There are less than 30,000 rhinos left in the wild. That is extremely sad news for such a beautiful animal, figures back from the early 20th century shows that over half a million wild rhinos roamed freely.
Most rhinos like to stay on their own but white rhinos sometimes stay in a group. A group of rhinos is called a “crash”.
The black rhino is the fastest and can reach a speed of 34 mph.
The Sumatran rhino is the smallest species of rhino.
Rhinos have fantastic hearing and a great sense of smell. It makes up for their relatively poor eyesight.