About the Indian Rhinoceros
The Indian one-horned rhinoceros is one of conservation's great success stories — reduced to fewer than 200 animals at the turn of the 20th century by hunting and habitat loss, the species has recovered to over 4,000 individuals through one of the world's most determined protection efforts. Kaziranga National Park in Assam alone shelters over 2,600 rhinoceros, representing more than 70% of the entire global population in a single park — a concentration that makes it one of the world's most extraordinary wildlife spectacles.
The Indian rhinoceros is distinguishable from its African relatives by its single horn (not two), its deeply folded, armour-plated grey skin, and its preference for the tall elephant grass of the Brahmaputra floodplain. These animals are excellent swimmers and regularly wade across flood channels in Kaziranga. Despite their bulk, rhinos can sprint at up to 50 km/h for short distances and have sharp hearing and smell that compensates for poor eyesight. Their dung is vital to the grassland ecosystem as a seed disperser.
- Kaziranga is the most reliable park for rhino sightings — jeep safaris in the central and western zones offer virtually guaranteed encounters at close range.
- The Jaldapara elephant-back safari in West Bengal provides uniquely intimate rhino encounters through tall grassland that would be impassable in a vehicle.
- Visit October–April to avoid the monsoon floods that inundate Kaziranga. During floods, rhinos move to the higher hills of Karbi Anglong adjacent to the park.