of with a shoulder height of , while cows have a head and body length of and a shoulder height of . The bull, averaging about is heavier than the cow, at an average of about . The rich presence of blood vessels underneath the tissues in folds gives them the pinkish colour. The folds in the skin increase the surface area and help in regulating the body temperature. The thick skin does not protect against bloodsucking Tabanus flies, leeches and ticks. The largest individuals reportedly weighed up to . Distribution and habitat Indian rhinos once ranged across the entire northern part of the Indian subcontinent, along the Indus, Ganges and Brahmaputra River basins, from Pakistan to the Indian-Myanmar border, including Bangladesh and the southern parts of Nepal and Bhutan. They may have also occurred in Myanmar, southern China and Indochina. They inhabit the alluvial grasslands of the Terai and the Brahmaputra basin. As a result of habitat destruction and climatic changes its range has gradually been reduced so that by the 19th century, it only survived in the Terai grasslands of southern Nepal, northern Uttar Pradesh, northern Bihar, northern West Bengal, and in the Brahmaputra Valley of Assam. The species was present in northern Bihar and Oudh at least until 1770 as indicated in maps produced by Colonel Gentil. On the former abundance of the species, Thomas C. Jerdon wrote in 1867: Today, its range has further shrunk to a few pockets in southern Nepal, northern West Bengal, and the Brahmaputra Valley. Its habitat is surrounded by human-dominated landscapes, so that in many areas, it occurs in cultivated areas, pastures, and secondary forests. In the 1980s, Indian rhinos were frequently seen in the narrow plain area of Manas River and Royal Manas National Park in Bhutan. Populations In 2006, the total Indian rhinoceros population was estimated to comprise 2,577 individuals, of which 2,165 lived in India: 23 individuals in Uttar Pradesh, including 21 in Dudhwa National Park and 2 in Katarniaghat Wildlife Sanctuary 135 individuals in West Bengal, including 108 in Jaldapara National Park and 27 in Gorumara National Park 2,007 individuals in Assam, including 1,855 in Kaziranga National Park, 81 in Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary, 68 in Orang National Park and 3 in Manas National Park. By 2014, the population in Assam increased to 2,544 Indian rhinos, an increase of 27% since 2006, although more than 150 individuals were