The Five Living Rhino Species and Their Conservation Stories

A square upper lip lets this African grazer crop grass close to the ground. Its low-hanging head and raised shoulder hump are good clues in profile. The northern and southern forms are subspecies of the same species, with very different histories. In 2025, African Parks moved 70 southern white rhinos to Rwanda’s Akagera National Park. Northern white rhino recovery efforts instead focused on assisted reproduction, with two surviving females under care in Kenya.

The pointed, flexible upper lip acts like a finger, plucking leaves from shrubs and trees. This African browser lives in habitats ranging from savanna to dry scrub. The IUCN’s 2025 report estimated 6,788 black rhinos at the end of 2024, up from its 2022 estimate. In southern Africa, conservation teams have moved black rhinos to protected areas to establish additional breeding populations.

The greater one-horned rhino, also called the Indian rhinoceros, has deep skin folds and a pebbled hide that give it an armored look. It uses the river floodplains and grasslands of India and Nepal. In Assam, a conservation program moved rhinos to reestablish a population in Manas National Park, reopening habitat where the species had disappeared.

The Javan rhino has plate-like skin folds and browses on leaves and shoots. A male can have a short single horn, while a female’s may be absent or barely visible. Its last surviving population lives in Ujung Kulon National Park on Java, so a disaster in one place could affect the entire species. Camera traps help researchers tell individuals apart and confirm births without having to find these elusive animals in person.

A hairy hide, two horns, and a smaller body distinguish the Sumatran rhino. Its remaining forest populations are scattered, making it hard for animals to find mates. The rhino pictured here is Ratu, who gave birth to Andatu at the Sumatran Rhino Sanctuary in 2012. He was the first Sumatran rhino born in a breeding facility in Indonesia.