Considered to be ‘living fossils’, rhinos are among the oldest mammal groups in the world. They consume a lot of vegetation, determine the local landscape, and ultimately balance the ecosystem. Here, a black rhino and her older calf stand by a mud-hole in the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in northern Kenya in 2021. Photo: AFP

However, three out of the five rhino species, namely the Javan, Sumatran and Black rhino, are endangered. Total population has dramatically dropped, from 500,000 once to 27,000 today, based on World Wildlife Fund estimates. Here, a rare male Javan rhino calf named Luther (L) roams in Ujung Kulon national park in Indonesia. Photo: AFP

Poaching for horns, which are sought-after for decoration and as an ingredient in certain traditional medicines, is the main danger to rhinos. In this photo, a newborn Rhinoceros stands next to her 11-year-old mother Rihanna, at the Ramat Gan Safari, an open-air zoo near Tel Aviv, Israel. Photo: AFP

Human settlements are also threatening rhino numbers as the animal’s habitat continues to be cleared to build homes. Here, a carer is pictured playing with a rhino calf at the Rhino Orphanage in an undisclosed location near Mokopane, Limpopo province in South Africa on January 9, 2021. Photo: AFP

About 2900 greater one-horned rhinoceros or Indian rhino remain in the wild in India, and their numbers are gradually increasing. Encouragingly, it is the lone large mammal species in Asia to go from ‘endangered’ to ‘vulnerable’ in the International Union for Conservation of Nature Red list. Here, Indian one-horned rhinoceroses are seen grazing in the Pobitora wildlife sanctuary in Assam in 2020. Photo: AFP

While numbers of the African white rhino signify a success story — going from under 100 in 1895 to over 20,000 now — the black rhino is still not out of danger with only about 5,000 remaining in the wild. As such, conservation continues to be an urgent matter. Here, a black rhinoceros calf stands in its pen, at the Bassin d'Arcachon Zoo in France, 2019. Photo: AFP