Today, a huge variety of animals live on earth, which impress with their beauty, uniqueness and appearance. But it is also interesting that in ancient times there were no less interesting animals that could not survive to this day. Thanks to paleontologists and scientists, we have an idea about these unique creatures and can even imagine where they lived, what they looked like and what they ate. One such amazing creature was the woolly rhinoceros. Now there is enough information about him to find out what he was like and to suggest why his population disappeared.
General information
The woolly rhinoceros is a mammal. Although its appearance is very similar to the modern representative of this family, they still have differences. In addition, to survive in cold territories, the animal was covered with warm wool. It also applied to herbivores. Meetings with people did not bring anything good to the animal. Often, hunters made traps into which the rhinoceros fell, after which it was pierced with spears. The main reason why the woolly rhinoceros has disappeared is, of course, climate change, but human bloodthirstiness has also played a significant role in this.
Appearance
In the north, during excavations, the bones of a woolly rhinoceros were often found. Also, in places of permafrost, the carcasses of this animal were found, which were mummified in ice. Thanks to such findings, scientists were able to study well the structure and external characteristics of the mammal. The found animal is basically very similar to the current representatives of this family. However, their physiques are different. The ancient representative had shortened three-toed legs and an elongated torso. The head is also more elongated. The neck of the beast turned into a large hump, which had several functions. First, he was equipped with good musculature in order to hold the horn. But besides this, he served as a "reserve" for the winter, in which there was a sufficient fat layer. The teeth of an ancient representative are very similar to the oral cavity of a modern rhinoceros. The animal also lacked fangs, but unlike the current rhinoceros, the rest of its teeth were more protected by dense enamel.
Frost-adapted
The mammal was covered with brown long hair, it is this feature that distinguishes the woolly rhinoceros. The skeleton, of course, cannot give an idea of whether the animal had hair, but the carcasses that were found in the ice were with hair samples. In order for the animal to endure the cold, there was a thick undercoat under the main long cover. The neck was wrapped with additional insulation in the form of a kind of mane. Also at the tip of the tail was a hard woolen brush. It is worth noting that the rhinoceros had slightly shortened ears 24cm, while its current relative has 30. Also, the tail was shorter, only 45 cm. Less heat loss occurs through small ears and tail. The skin of the beast was thick, not less than 5 mm. On the shoulders and chest, its thickness reached 15 mm. All this data shows that the animal was well adapted to survive in harsh environments.
Animal horns
Whether male or female, they both had two horns on the bridge of their noses. The structure of these outgrowths practically does not differ from those that exist in today's animals. The horns were keratinized fibers. But they had a slightly different shape. If the rhinoceroses familiar to us wear more rounded horns, then the ancient representatives of the fauna have them flattened from the sides. The length of such a growth was impressive, and especially the long horns had a curved back shape. More often, the horn was a little more than one meter, but there were exceptions, in which the growth reached 1 m 40 cm. The woolly rhinoceros wore about 15 kilograms on its bridge of the nose. But to this mass it is worth adding the weight of the second horn, which was half as short, usually it did not exceed half a meter. To support such a load, the nasal septum of an ancient mammal was all ossified. The modern representative of this species does not have such advantages.
Animal size
If we compare the ancient and modern rhinoceros, then in their parameters they practically do not differ from each other. In 1972, a mummified woolly rhinoceros was found in Yakutia. The dimensions of the carcass in length reached 3 m 200cm. The height, measured along the shoulders, was 1 m 50 cm. Both horns remained intact, the main growth is 1 m 25 cm. According to modern estimates, large individuals could weigh 3.5 tons. But more often they did not reach such a figure, and therefore the average weight is equal to the black rhinoceros, larger individuals had the same mass as the modern white rhinoceros. The woolly rhinoceros at that time was inferior in size only to mammoths, and now these land rhinos lose only to elephants in size.
Lifestyle
The behavior of the ancient rhinoceros seems to be no different from the current brethren. They wandered one by one, not grouped into herds, during the rut they fought for females and most of the time fattened on pastures. The structure of the upper lip indicates that the animal mainly fed on grass and cereals. Once every three years, the males came to the females. For about a year and a half, the female bore offspring. Judging by the teats (there were only two of them), one cub was born at a time. For about two years, the baby kept close to his mother. During her life, the female brought about seven cubs. This indicates a weak population growth. Most likely, the mammal lived a life of 40 years, after which it grew old and died, unless, of course, hunters killed it before.
Wooly white rhinoceros in video games
Because this animal has remained in the deep past, various abilities can be attributed to it today. For example, they decided to use his image in modern entertainmentindustry, and therefore he appears in some computer games, where he is rewarded with additional features and extraordinary strength. So, many people know the woolly rhinoceros "WWII", which was added in update 3.3.5. Here he acts not only as an animal for riding, but also for waging battles. In this game, he received such recognition due to his large size.
