As a species, the rhino has suffered severely because of an almost mystical faith that some Asian peoples place in medicines contained in the Rhino horn. In light of the fact that the rhino dominated the world for almost 150 million years, this is an incredible decline.
Water protects the animals from bloodsucking insect pests and the oppressive heat of the day.
The mud that later forms makes a dry coat on their hides that serves to protect them. They graze mainly on grasses and other aquatic plants, many of which are submerged. To get at a plant below the surface, the rhino submerges its head, pulls a plant out by the roots, and lifts its head out of the water to chew and swallow its newly grasped meal. Large animals that can measure up to 12 feet in length and weight over two tons, rhinos are renowned for their horns. A rhino's horn is actually a form of agglutinated hair.