Ceratotherium neumayri (SciiFii)

The Arabian white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium neumayri), also known as the Syrian white rhinoceros and the Turkish white rhinoceros, is a species of white rhinoceros that originally lived from the eastern Mediterranean, in the Anatolia region in modern Turkey, dating to the late Miocene, and was once extinct, but has since been brought back from extinction by SciiFii and introduced throughout the modern tropical, subtropical, and temperate Mediterranean open woodlands, grasslands, shrublands, and scrublands across the Arabian Peninsula to help boost biodiversity. The Arabian white rhinoceros, when the species first existed before humans evolved, was the likely ancestor of both the common white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) and black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) lineages of Africa. Like other white rhinoceros species, the Arabian white rhinoceros has a massive body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. Males have a head and body length of 368–380 centimeters (12.07–12.47 feet) with a shoulder height of 170–186 centimeters (5.58–6.10 feet), while females have a head and body length of 310–340 centimeters (10.2–11.2 feet) and a shoulder height of 148–173 centimeters (4.86–5.68 feet). The male, averaging about 2,200 kilograms (4,850 lbs) is heavier than the female, at an average of about 1,600 kilograms (3,530 lbs). Unlike other white rhinoceros species, the Arabian white rhinoceros is a mixed feeder, being adapted to both browsing and grazing. It drinks twice a day if water is available, but if conditions are dry it can live four or five days without water. It spends about half of the day eating, one-third resting, and the rest of the day doing various other things. Arabian white rhinos, like some other species of rhinoceros, love wallowing in mud holes to cool down. White rhinos produce sounds which include a panting contact call, grunts and snorts during courtship, squeals of distress, and deep bellows or growls when threatened. Threat displays (in males mostly) include wiping its horn on the ground and a head-low posture with ears back, combined with snarl threats and shrieking if attacked. The vocalizations of the two species differ between each other, and the panting contact calls between individual Arabian white rhinos in each species can vary as well. The differences in these calls aid the Arabian white rhinos in identifying each other and communicating over long distances. The Arabian white rhinoceros is quick and agile and can run 50 km/h (31 mph). Arabian white rhinos live in crashes or herds of up to 14 animals (usually mostly female). Sub-adult males will congregate, often in association with an adult female. Most adult males are solitary. Dominant males mark their territory with excrement and urine. The dung is laid in well defined piles. It may have 20 to 30 of these piles to alert passing white rhinos that it is his territory. Another way of marking their territory is wiping their horns on bushes or the ground and scraping with their feet before urine spraying. They do this around ten times an hour while patrolling territory. The same ritual as urine marking except without spraying is also commonly used. The territorial male will scrape-mark every 30 m (98 ft) or so around its territory boundary. Subordinate males do not mark territory. The most serious fights break out over mating rights with a female. Female territory overlaps extensively, and they do not defend it. Females reach sexual maturity at 6–7 years of age while males reach sexual maturity between 10 and 12 years of age. Courtship is often a difficult affair. The male stays beyond the point where the female acts aggressively and will give out a call when approaching her. The male chases and or blocks the way of the female while squealing or wailing loudly if the cow tries to leave his territory. When ready to mate the female curls her tail and gets into a stiff stance during the half-hour copulation. Breeding pairs stay together between 5–20 days before they part their separate ways. The gestation period of the Arabian white rhino is 16 months. A single calf is born and usually weighs between 40 and 65 kilograms (88 and 143 lbs). Calves are unsteady for their first two to three days of life. When threatened, the baby will run in front of the mother, which is very protective of her calf and will fight for it vigorously. Weaning starts at two months, but the calf may continue suckling for over 12 months. The birth interval for the Arabian white rhino is between two and three years. Before giving birth, the mother will chase off her current calf. Arabian white rhinos can live to be up to 40–50 years old. The conservation status of the Arabian white rhinoceros is Near Threatened due to habitat loss and poaching, however, thanks to the conservationists, the Arabian white rhinoceros is a protected species.
Category:Animals
Category:Species
Category:SciiFii