Creating artificial Rhino Horns from Horse Hair

Ruixin Mi,Z Z Shao,F Vollrath

doi:10.1038/s41598-019-52527-5

Abstract

Demand for rhino horn is driving poaching with devastating effect for the few individuals left of the few species surviving from this once numerous, widespread and cosmopolitan clade of pachyderms. We bundled together tail hairs of the rhino’s ubiquitous near relative, the horse, to be glued together with a bespoke matrix of regenerated silk mimicking the collagenous component of the real horn. This approach allowed us to fabricate composite structures that were confusingly similar to real rhino horn in look, feel and properties. Spectral and thermal FT-IR, DSC and TGA analysis demonstrated the similar chemical composition and thermo-mechanical properties between the natural and the faux horns.

Highlights

The horn of the rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae) is not a horn in the traditional sense like the horn of a cow or the nail of a hoof it does share some properties[1]
The native rhinoceros horn in essence is a composite material, structured by its growth, with the tubules of keratin hair forming ‘fibres’ that are embedded in a matrix material that may change in composition along and/or across the horn[11]
Throughout the rhinoceros horn each hair filament retains much of its natural hair structure including the medullary cavity it is lacking the outermost layers of scaly cuticle so typical for external hairs[3] (Figs 1B,C and 2A,C)

Summary

Introduction

The horn of the rhinoceros (Rhinocerotidae) is not a horn in the traditional sense like the horn of a cow or the nail of a hoof it does share some properties[1]. The rhino’s horn is a tuft of hair growing, tightly packed and glued together by exudates from the sebaceous glands, on the nose of the animal[2]. Of specific importance for our study are Ryder et al.[1] who clarify the tubular structure of the keratin hair filaments, Hieronymus et al.[3] who examine histological sections of horn tissue by x-ray CT-scanning and light microscopy and Ling[4] who identified rhinoceros horn comparatively through appearance and microstructure. As substitute for the sebaceous gland protein exudate cement of the rhino we use a silk-protein based organic filler to glue together the bundled hair. The composite is moulded into a horn of hair that is surprisingly similar visually in external and internal micro-structure as well as in feel and overall appearance if shaped and polished

Methods

Results

Conclusion