Land Mammals, features and articles | Educational Science

Mar 11, 2015

'Sasha': Photos of an Extinct Woolly Rhino Baby

A hunter and businessman stumbled across a rare find in a frozen riverbank in Siberia: The remarkably complete remains of a baby woolly rhino. Nicknamed Sasha, after its discoverer, the specimen is one of just a handful of its species that have been found since the 18th century, researchers say....

Mar 11, 2015

10,000-Year-Old Remains of Extinct Woolly Rhino Baby Discovered

The remains of a baby woolly rhino that roamed the Earth at least 10,000 years ago have been discovered in a frozen riverbank in Siberia, researchers said. The rhino calf, nicknamed Sasha after the hunter and businessman who found it, is the only complete young specimen of the extinct species...

Jun 8, 2015

In Photos: The Last 5 Northern White Rhinos

Just five northern white rhinoceroses remain in the wild. And chances of them breeding, without human intervention, to bring numbers back up are slim. In a race to save this subspecies (Ceratotherium simum cottoni), conservationists and veterinarians are turning to in vitro fertilization. But will they run out of time...

Jun 8, 2015

Then There Were 5: Inside the Race to Save the Northern White Rhino

For decades, humans have slaughtered Africa's rhinoceroses, driven by the Eastern medicine market's demand for their horns. On a reserve in Kenya, the end result of this decimation lives out his old age under armed guard, his horn docked to make him less valuable to poachers. Such is the life...

Jun 26, 2015

Will Fake Rhino Horns Curb Poaching?

A new company is engineering a synthetic rhino horn that could be indistinguishable from the natural kind. The goal is to flood the black market for rhino horn, which is prized in some parts of Asia for its purported medicinal value, according to the company, called Pembient. By decreasing the...

Jul 28, 2015

Northern White Rhino Dies, Leaving Only 4 Left on Earth

One of the last five northern white rhinoceroses in the world has died. Nabiré, a 31-year-old female northern white rhino, died of a ruptured cyst, authorities at the Dvůr Králové Zoo in the Czech Republic announced today (July 28). Nabiré's death leaves only three females of this subspecies alive. One...

Aug 25, 2015

Sumatran Rhino Goes Extinct in the Wild in Malaysia

The Sumatran rhino is now considered extinct in the wild in the Southeast Asian country of Malaysia, according to a new study. No wild Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) have been found on the Malaysian peninsula since 2007, and what are thought to be the last two female rhinos in Malaysian...

Nov 23, 2015

Goodbye, Nola: Only 3 Northern White Rhinos Remain in the World

One of the four northern white rhinoceros left on Earth died yesterday (Nov. 22), leaving only three surviving members of the critically endangered species. Nola, a 41-year-old female rhino, lived at the San Diego Zoo Safari Park since 1989. In recent weeks, Nola suffered from a bacterial infection, and on...

Dec 23, 2015

Stem Cells May Save Northern White Rhinos

With only three northern white rhinoceroses left on Earth, conservationists are giving up on traditional breeding efforts and turning to cutting-edge science to save this subspecies. At a meeting in Vienna from Dec. 3 to Dec. 6, researchers developed a plan to use stem cells to create fertilized rhino embryos,...

Mar 23, 2016

Live Sumatran Rhino Captured in Indonesia

A live Sumatran rhinoceros has been captured in the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo, a region where these critically endangered animals were thought to be extinct. A single camera-trap image and telltale footprints found in 2013 had previously revealed that Sumatran rhinos (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) still survived in Kalimantan,...

Jan 11, 2017

Rhinos' Communal Toilets Are Poo-Powered Social Networks

In the world of Harry Potter, wizards and witches communicate via the magical Floo Network. White rhinos, however, use a less magical and smellier communication system: a poo network. Scientists recently discovered that white rhinos' dung contains status updates, with the feces odor broadcasting chemical signals about a rhino's age...

Mar 7, 2017

Rare White Rhino Killed for Coveted Horn at French Zoo

A 4-year-old white rhinoceros who was inside an enclosure in a French zoo has been killed for his horn. Vince, a young rhino at the Thoiry Zoo, was found shot in the head, and one large horn had been sawed off by a chainsaw, according to the Guardian. The animal's...

Mar 21, 2017

Czech Zoo Dehorns Rhinos to Ward Off Poachers

In the wake of a brazen incident of rhino poaching at a French zoo, a Czech zoo that holds the largest number of rhinoceroses of any zoo in Europe is cutting the horns off the at-risk animals. Přemysl Rabas, director of Dvůr Králové Zoo, announced today (March 21) that the...

Apr 26, 2017

On Tinder, Swipe Right to Save This Endangered Rhino

He's big, smelly and a little past his prime, but should you happen to see a northern white rhinoceros named Sudan pop up on your Tinder, you might want to swipe right anyway. Sudan is the last male of the northern white rhinoceros subspecies (Ceratotherium simum simum). He's not on...

Jun 6, 2017

One of Malaysia's Last Sumatran Rhinos Dies

One of the last three Sumatran rhinoceroses in Malaysia has died, the Borneo Rhino Alliance has announced. The rhino, named Puntung, was about 25 years old and lived at Malaysia's Tabin Wildlife Reserve in Sabah. Wildlife veterinarians euthanized her on June 4, eight days after discovering that the critically endangered...