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- Acoustic ears
- Flattened Foot
- Fly swatter
- Food grinders
- Grass cropper
- Oxpecker
- Smell Inlets
- Spike horn
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After the elephant, the black rhino is one of the largest land mammals on Earth.
It lives in and feeds on the grassland savannas of Africa. The rhino belongs to a group of hooved
animals called ungulates. Its closest relatives are tapirs and horses, but only with immensely strong legs.
The robot rhino is massive like the living animal. Its leg supports are incredibly sturdy,
and each one has three weight-bearing props at the end. Instead of leathery skin,
it has studded armor for extra protection. And it has a horn, which is made incredibly strong
sections that match the strength of the hollow, hair-like fibers in the real rhino's horn.
The robot rhino even has a robot tick bird called an oxpecker to clean its armor.
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More About Rhinoceroses:
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Acoustic ears
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Acoustic ears are pivotal acoustic receptors on the robot.
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Flattened Foot
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The Rhino's legs end in flattened feet which together bear the animal's great weight.
Each foot has three wide toes, each ending in a broad rounded hoof- the splayed-out toes and hooves spread the rhino's weight over a large area.
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Fly swatter
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The Fly swatter on the robot is the real rhino's tail! Flies and ticks that irritate the
rhino can be brushed off with the hair-tipped tail or the large hair-fringed ears. Those out of
reach of either of these fly swatters are often removed by helpful tick birds such as oxpeckers.
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Food grinders
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Food grinders are the robots teeth. Tough grass is ground into an easily digestible pulp by
the ridged grinding teeth before being swallowed.
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Grass cropper
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The rhino has a prehensile, or grasping, lip for pulling up and eating vegetation.
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Oxpecker
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An oxpecker is a companion bird to a rhino. It perches on the rhino and eats the insects and ticks. This cleans the rhino's skin and protects the rhino from the diseases that can be carried by insects.
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Smell Inlets
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Smell Inlets on the robot are nostrils on the real rhino.
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Spike horn
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Although the rhino has few natural enemies, it has non-hairy leathery skin that
works like flexible armor to protect it. Its other defense, with which it can knock over a jeep, is its massive horn. It looks as though it is made of bone, but is in fact made of special hollow hairs that are stuck together with a type of natural resin-like gum.
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Rhinoceros Facts:
Country: Africa
Habitat: the edge of the rainforest to dry scrublands
Height: 4 1/2 - 5 1/2 ft. (137-168 cm)
Weight: 2,090 - 2860 lb. (950 - 1,300 kg)
Closest relative: tapir and horse
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 Choose another animal:
Chameleon |
Squid |
Bat |
Fly |
Platypus |
Grasshopper |
Special thanks to B.J. Heinley and Brian
Buschmann.
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