AnimalsThe Indian rhinoceros has a single horn and thick grey skin that folds like plates of armour. It is a good swimmer and spends much time wallowing. Most of the world's population lives in Assam, above all in Kaziranga National Park. Strict protection has brought it back from near extinction.
Quick facts
- Scientific name
- Rhinoceros unicornis
- Group
- Mammals
- Diet
- Herbivore (eats plants)
- Lives in
- North-east India and Nepal
- Habitat
- Tall riverside grassland and swamps
- A young one is called
- calf
- A group is called
- crash
- Conservation status
- Vulnerable
How it is classified
Scientists sort living things into groups within groups. Reading down, each step is a smaller group, ending with the species itself.
- Kingdom Animalia
- Phylum Chordata
- Class Mammalia
- Order Perissodactyla
- Family Rhinocerotidae
- Genus Rhinoceros
- Species Rhinoceros unicornis
Other members of the family Rhinocerotidae on this site: white rhinoceros.
More distant relatives in the order Perissodactyla: donkey, horse, plains zebra.
Classification follows the GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Other reference works arrange some groups differently. How classification works.
Is it in danger?
The Indian rhinoceros is listed as Vulnerable. The species faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.
This is the IUCN Red List category as recorded in Wikidata on 11 November 2026. The IUCN Red List itself is the authority and may carry a newer assessment. What the categories mean.