The Rhinoceros Totem

  

      Spirit led me to draw the rhinoceros totem because of they are on the endangered species list and they are being poached for their horns just as the elephant is being killed for ivory tusks. The horns are poached and sold on the black market for People believing that grinding up the horns and consuming it has therapeutic properties. The horns are made of the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails. The rhinoceros is an ancient animal and their lineage can be traced back to the Miocene period (6 mya). The rhinoceros is a powerful animal with a thick skin. The rhino wants us to let what others say bounce off of us instead of letting ourselves be wounded.

     Rhinoceros is a solitary animal and teaches how to be comfortable with in your own self.

The Rhino often gives its totem people insight into their own past lives. People with a Rhino totem have a heightened sense of smell. The sense of smell is symbolic of higher discrimination, spiritual idealism and higher wisdom and Rhino gives all of these to their totem people.
Discriminate and don’t look at appearance only, go beyond and trust your intuition.

Ancient Wisdom        Know thyself Trust your inner wisdom      Discriminate

Rhinoceros facts

• There are 2 species of African rhino and 1 species of Asian rhino, 1 species of Javan  rhino
• Rhinos can gallop up to 30 miles per hour
• Black rhino population down 97.6% since 1960

     Members of the rhinoceros family are characterized by their large size as well as by an herbivorous diet; a thick protective skin, relatively small brains for mammals this size and a large horn. They generally eat leafy material, although they may survive on more fibrous plant matter, if necessary. The two African species of rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths, relying instead on their powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind up plant food.

     The African rhino is divided into two species, the black rhino and the white rhino. White rhinos mainly live in South Africa, but they have also been reintroduced to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe. Southern white rhinos have been introduced to Kenya, Zambia, and Cote d’Ivoire. The majority of the black rhino population—98%—is concentrated in four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, and Kenya. South Africa houses 40% of the total black rhino population. There are some black rhinos in the region spread between Cameroon and Kenya.

     In the wild, the adult black or white rhino has no predators except for humans. Rhinos are hunted and killed for their horns. The major demand for rhino horn is in Asia, where it is used in ornamental carvings and traditional medicine. Rhino horn is touted as a cure for hangovers, cancer, and impotence.  Their horns are not true horns; they are actually made of keratin—the same material that makes up our hair and nails. Truly, rhino horn is as effective at curing cancer as chewing on your fingernails.

Sources: https://www.awf.org/wildlife-conservation/rhinoceros

   http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros

   Animal Speak by Ted Andrews