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Rhino
The rhinoceros is a large, primitive-looking mammal that in fact dates from the Miocene era millions of years ago. In recent decades’ rhinos have been relentlessly hunted to the point of near extinction. Since 1970 the world rhino population has declined by 90%, with five species remaining in the world today, all of which are endangered.
The white or square-lipped rhino is one of two rhino species in Africa, the other is the Black Rhino. These mammals are easily recognized by their prehistoric features and the horns on their forehead. Rhinos are bold and have been seen to graze right next to Lions, with the Lions being equally un-fazed. Poachers are greatly responsible for the decreasing Rhino population.
Physical Characteristics
Black rhinos have various habitats, but mainly areas with dense, woody vegetation. White rhinos live in savannas with water holes, mud wallows and shade trees.
Behavior
The black rhino is a browser, with a triangular-shaped upper lip ending in a mobile grasping point. It eats a large variety of vegetation, including leaves, buds and shoots of plants, bushes and trees. The white rhino, on the other hand, is a grazer feeding on grasses.
Caring for the young Rhinos
The closest rhino relationship is between a female and her calf, lasting from 2 to 4 years. As the older calves mature, they leave their mothers and may join other females and their young, where they are tolerated for some time before living completely on their own.
Predators
Man is the cause of the demise of the rhino. In the wild, the adult black or white rhino has no true natural predators and, despite its size and antagonistic reputation, it is extremely easy for man to kill. A creature of habitat that lives in a well-defined home range, it usually goes to water holes daily, where it is easily ambushed. The dramatic decline in rhino numbers is unfortunate in an era of increasing conservation and wildlife awareness, but efforts are underway to save the rhino from extinction.
What are the differences between black and white rhinos?
There is no difference in color between the two species, with the name of the White Rhino coming from the description of its mouth, wyd or wide. The mouth of the Black Rhino is hooked as opposed to the wide mouth of the White Rhino. The White Rhino is a grazer and the Black Rhino is a browser, hence the shapes of the mouths. There is also a difference in size with the White Rhino been the bigger of the two.
Black Rhinoceros [Diceros bicornis sp - numerous sub-species in Africa]
Appearance
Bulls weigh up to 1 200 Kg and cows about 800 Kg. As such this species is smaller than the White Rhino. It can further be distinguished from the White (or square-lipped) Rhino by the pointed upper-lip. Other than the White Rhino, the smaller head is usually held high. The ears are trumpet-like and more rounded. The soil in which it rolls, partly determines the skin color.
Diet
Being a browser, it feeds on trees, bushes and herbs. Only when under nutritional stress will it consume grass. Branches and twigs are grabbed with the hooked upper lip, pulled into the mouth, and then sheared off with the molars, and masticated. This 'pruning' of bushes allowed ecologists to conduct detailed studies of feeding patterns and preferences.
Behavior
Running, it can attain a speed of up to 55 km/h. Young bulls straying into the territories of dominant bulls may be killed. Bulls are solitary.
Where they are found
The African population declined from about 65 000 in 1970 to a mere 2 400 in 1995, when the last count was conducted. Most of the world's Black Rhino population occurs in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. This species is now considered to be seriously threatened.
The rhinos of Africa are in another stage of decimation with the rhino horn trade sky-rocketing, and the price of Rhino Horn becoming more valuable than cocaine. The cause of this is the mistaken belief in the East that the horn is a powerful aphrodisiac and enhancer. The trade is not going to stop until the attitudes are changed in the East, despite the ideas of the general public and conservationists.
White or Square-lipped Rhinoceros [Ceratotherium simum]
Appearance
The White Rhino is the third largest land mammal. Massive, stocky, and with a reputation of being not quite as aggressive as the Black Rhino. The two distinctive horns are in fact very densely packed fibers, and materially not really horns. The record horn length is 1.58 m. Bulls, weighing up to 2 000 kg, are larger than cows which weigh up to 1 800 kg. Bulls are 1.8 m at the shoulders. The grey skin is almost hairless. They have a square-shaped, wide mouth. White Rhinos have a hump on the neck. The penis points backwards and testes are located abdominally.
Diet
The White Rhino is strictly a grazer. Favoring short grass, but will feed on taller grass when short grass is not available. The wide mouth enables adequate intake with each plug harvested with the upper and lower lips.
Behavior
In spite of their bulk and short stubby legs, White Rhino can run remarkably fast, but only for very short distances. Dominant territorial bulls occupy mutually exclusive areas of two to five square kilometers, but one or more subordinate bulls may share the territory. Female ranges may overlap those of several bull territories. A territorial bull will attempt to confine a receptive cow to his territory, and will join her for five to ten days prior to mating.
Where they are found
Formerly widely distributed throughout the bushveld regions of South Africa. In the 19th century it was exterminated by hunters, except in KwaZulu-Natal's Umfolozi region. Although now thriving where it has been re-introduced into parts of its former region, it still suffers from poaching.
Did you know?
How and when do rhinos sleep?
Rhinos sleep standing up or lying down and can sleep up to 8 hours a day at intervals. They can be found dozing under a tree during a hot day, but when they take a deep sleep, they lie down with their feet curled up slightly to the one side. They sleep very deeply and can easily be approached.
How do Rhino keep cool?
During the heat of the day Rhinos will rest up in shade or find a mud wallow. The mud not only cools them down but protects the skin against parasites and the sun. Rhinos tend to move around more during the night when it is cooler and more bearable. They will also drink water whenever available.
What is the rhino horn made of and why is it in such demand?
Rhino horn is not made up of compressed hair as once thought but rather keratin (the same material that makes nails, claws and hooves). The horn is sought after for its supposed medicinal purposes. In Yemen the horn is used for dagger handles that are presented to young boys reaching into manhood.
Poaching statistics
In just a decade, more than 7,137 African rhinos have been lost to poaching.
1,054 rhinos killed in South Africa alone during 2016 works out nearly three rhinos being killed every day. And while poaching is down in Kruger National Park, it is significantly up in other provinces, particularly KwaZulu-Natal. Furthermore, there are continuing and worrying signs that poaching gangs are increasingly moving beyond South Africa’s borders; gaining a foothold in other African countries – many of which have less resources available to protect wildlife.
Rhino population figures at the end of 2015:
(Rhino population figures are compiled and published by the African Rhino Specialist Group)
Rhino species Population
White rhino: Between 19,666 and 21,085
Black rhino: Between 5,040 and 5,458
Sources:
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/faq-on-rhino.html
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_white_rhino.html
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_black_rhino.html
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engrhino.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=1&bestemming_id=1
https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/rhino_population_figures
https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics
The rhinoceros is a large, primitive-looking mammal that in fact dates from the Miocene era millions of years ago. In recent decades’ rhinos have been relentlessly hunted to the point of near extinction. Since 1970 the world rhino population has declined by 90%, with five species remaining in the world today, all of which are endangered.
The white or square-lipped rhino is one of two rhino species in Africa, the other is the Black Rhino. These mammals are easily recognized by their prehistoric features and the horns on their forehead. Rhinos are bold and have been seen to graze right next to Lions, with the Lions being equally un-fazed. Poachers are greatly responsible for the decreasing Rhino population.
Physical Characteristics
- The white rhino, which is actually gray, has a pronounced hump on the neck and a long face.
- The black, or hooked-lipped, rhino, along with all other rhino species, is an odd-toed ungulate (three toes on each foot). It has a thick, hairless, gray hide. Both the black and white rhino have two horns, the longer of which sits at the front of the nose.
Black rhinos have various habitats, but mainly areas with dense, woody vegetation. White rhinos live in savannas with water holes, mud wallows and shade trees.
Behavior
- Rhinos live in home ranges that sometimes overlap with each other.
- Feeding grounds, water holes and wallows may be shared.
- The black rhino is usually solitary.
- The white rhino tends to be much more gregarious.
- Rhinos are also rather ill-tempered and have become more so in areas where they have been constantly disturbed.
- While their eyesight is poor, which is probably why they will sometimes charge without apparent reason, their sense of smell and hearing are very good.
- They have an extended "vocabulary" of growls, grunts, squeaks, snorts and bellows. When attacking, the rhino lowers its head, snorts, breaks into a gallop reaching speeds of 30 miles an hour, and gores or strikes powerful blows with its horns.
- The rhino is very agile and can quickly turn in a small space.
- The rhino has a symbiotic relationship with tick birds.
- In Swahili the tick bird is named "askari wa kifaru," meaning "the rhino's guard."
- The bird eats the ticks it finds on the rhino and noisily warns of danger.
- Although the birds also eat blood from sores on the rhino's skin and thus obstruct healing, they are still tolerated.
The black rhino is a browser, with a triangular-shaped upper lip ending in a mobile grasping point. It eats a large variety of vegetation, including leaves, buds and shoots of plants, bushes and trees. The white rhino, on the other hand, is a grazer feeding on grasses.
Caring for the young Rhinos
The closest rhino relationship is between a female and her calf, lasting from 2 to 4 years. As the older calves mature, they leave their mothers and may join other females and their young, where they are tolerated for some time before living completely on their own.
Predators
Man is the cause of the demise of the rhino. In the wild, the adult black or white rhino has no true natural predators and, despite its size and antagonistic reputation, it is extremely easy for man to kill. A creature of habitat that lives in a well-defined home range, it usually goes to water holes daily, where it is easily ambushed. The dramatic decline in rhino numbers is unfortunate in an era of increasing conservation and wildlife awareness, but efforts are underway to save the rhino from extinction.
What are the differences between black and white rhinos?
There is no difference in color between the two species, with the name of the White Rhino coming from the description of its mouth, wyd or wide. The mouth of the Black Rhino is hooked as opposed to the wide mouth of the White Rhino. The White Rhino is a grazer and the Black Rhino is a browser, hence the shapes of the mouths. There is also a difference in size with the White Rhino been the bigger of the two.
Black Rhinoceros [Diceros bicornis sp - numerous sub-species in Africa]
Appearance
Bulls weigh up to 1 200 Kg and cows about 800 Kg. As such this species is smaller than the White Rhino. It can further be distinguished from the White (or square-lipped) Rhino by the pointed upper-lip. Other than the White Rhino, the smaller head is usually held high. The ears are trumpet-like and more rounded. The soil in which it rolls, partly determines the skin color.
Diet
Being a browser, it feeds on trees, bushes and herbs. Only when under nutritional stress will it consume grass. Branches and twigs are grabbed with the hooked upper lip, pulled into the mouth, and then sheared off with the molars, and masticated. This 'pruning' of bushes allowed ecologists to conduct detailed studies of feeding patterns and preferences.
Behavior
Running, it can attain a speed of up to 55 km/h. Young bulls straying into the territories of dominant bulls may be killed. Bulls are solitary.
Where they are found
The African population declined from about 65 000 in 1970 to a mere 2 400 in 1995, when the last count was conducted. Most of the world's Black Rhino population occurs in South Africa, Namibia, Kenya and Zimbabwe. This species is now considered to be seriously threatened.
The rhinos of Africa are in another stage of decimation with the rhino horn trade sky-rocketing, and the price of Rhino Horn becoming more valuable than cocaine. The cause of this is the mistaken belief in the East that the horn is a powerful aphrodisiac and enhancer. The trade is not going to stop until the attitudes are changed in the East, despite the ideas of the general public and conservationists.
White or Square-lipped Rhinoceros [Ceratotherium simum]
Appearance
The White Rhino is the third largest land mammal. Massive, stocky, and with a reputation of being not quite as aggressive as the Black Rhino. The two distinctive horns are in fact very densely packed fibers, and materially not really horns. The record horn length is 1.58 m. Bulls, weighing up to 2 000 kg, are larger than cows which weigh up to 1 800 kg. Bulls are 1.8 m at the shoulders. The grey skin is almost hairless. They have a square-shaped, wide mouth. White Rhinos have a hump on the neck. The penis points backwards and testes are located abdominally.
Diet
The White Rhino is strictly a grazer. Favoring short grass, but will feed on taller grass when short grass is not available. The wide mouth enables adequate intake with each plug harvested with the upper and lower lips.
Behavior
In spite of their bulk and short stubby legs, White Rhino can run remarkably fast, but only for very short distances. Dominant territorial bulls occupy mutually exclusive areas of two to five square kilometers, but one or more subordinate bulls may share the territory. Female ranges may overlap those of several bull territories. A territorial bull will attempt to confine a receptive cow to his territory, and will join her for five to ten days prior to mating.
Where they are found
Formerly widely distributed throughout the bushveld regions of South Africa. In the 19th century it was exterminated by hunters, except in KwaZulu-Natal's Umfolozi region. Although now thriving where it has been re-introduced into parts of its former region, it still suffers from poaching.
Did you know?
- The black rhino declined drastically in the 1970s and 1980s due to poaching. To prevent extinction, many rhinos were translocated to fenced sanctuaries in the early 1990s. This effort appears to be succeeding, as 1994 was the first time in 20 years that rhino numbers did not decline.
- The rhino is prized for its horn. Not a true horn, it is made of thickly matted hair that grows from the skull without skeletal support. The major demand for horn is in Asia, where it is used in traditional medicine and ornamental carvings.
How and when do rhinos sleep?
Rhinos sleep standing up or lying down and can sleep up to 8 hours a day at intervals. They can be found dozing under a tree during a hot day, but when they take a deep sleep, they lie down with their feet curled up slightly to the one side. They sleep very deeply and can easily be approached.
How do Rhino keep cool?
During the heat of the day Rhinos will rest up in shade or find a mud wallow. The mud not only cools them down but protects the skin against parasites and the sun. Rhinos tend to move around more during the night when it is cooler and more bearable. They will also drink water whenever available.
What is the rhino horn made of and why is it in such demand?
Rhino horn is not made up of compressed hair as once thought but rather keratin (the same material that makes nails, claws and hooves). The horn is sought after for its supposed medicinal purposes. In Yemen the horn is used for dagger handles that are presented to young boys reaching into manhood.
Poaching statistics
In just a decade, more than 7,137 African rhinos have been lost to poaching.
1,054 rhinos killed in South Africa alone during 2016 works out nearly three rhinos being killed every day. And while poaching is down in Kruger National Park, it is significantly up in other provinces, particularly KwaZulu-Natal. Furthermore, there are continuing and worrying signs that poaching gangs are increasingly moving beyond South Africa’s borders; gaining a foothold in other African countries – many of which have less resources available to protect wildlife.
Rhino population figures at the end of 2015:
(Rhino population figures are compiled and published by the African Rhino Specialist Group)
Rhino species Population
White rhino: Between 19,666 and 21,085
Black rhino: Between 5,040 and 5,458
Sources:
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/faq-on-rhino.html
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_white_rhino.html
http://www.krugerpark.co.za/africa_black_rhino.html
http://www.outtoafrica.nl/animals/engrhino.html?zenden=2&subsoort_id=1&bestemming_id=1
https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/rhino_population_figures
https://www.savetherhino.org/rhino_info/poaching_statistics
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