Top Panel
Top Panel
Top Panel
  
        
Top Panel
Rhino Past Population
                      Past
Rhino Present Population
                    Present

The Black rhino or the Hook-lipped rhino (Diceros bicornis)
Black rhino The black rhino of Africa is now found only in a few small areas of south western, south central, and eastern Africa. A very few are also found in Cameroon in West Africa. It has two horns and is smaller in size than the white rhino. It weighs about 1,400 kg and is about 1.6m in height. Its upper lip tapers to a finger-like point which can be used to pluck leaves and twigs from trees and bushes. Black rhinos prefer to live alone and react aggressively if disturbed.

The black rhino is a browsing animal, feeding on leaves from bushes. It can eat coarser vegetation than most other herbivores. Black rhinos are found in savannah grasslands, open woodlands and also in mountain forests.

A hundred years ago there may have been as many as a million black rhinos in Africa. Now, only about 2,400 black rhinos are left. Most of them live in closely-guarded Parks and Reserves. Top of page

The White rhino or the Square-lipped rhino
(Ceratotherium simum)

The white rhino, found in the grasslands of southern Africa and north-east Zaire, has two horns and is the largest land mammal after the elephant. It is 4 m long, 1.5 to 1.8 m tall and weighs up to 2,500 kg. It has a long head and large ears and carries its head lower than the black rhino. The white rhino is actually pale grey in colour: its name is actually derived from the Boer word ‘wijde’, which means 'wide' and refers to its broad upper lip.

White rhino Unlike the black rhino, this species is peaceful and quite social. It is found in herds of up to dozen. White rhinos are grazers, feeding on grasses. The square mouth is useful for cropping the grass and the longer neck is adapted to easier feeding at ground level.

White rhinos in Zaire are highly endangered. Only about 30 of them survive in the Garamba National Park, where WWF has had a project to protect them for many years. In southern Africa, white rhinos are doing well and can be seen by tourists in many Parks and private sanctuaries.

            
Bottom Tool Bar Dot Wild Places Animal List Remarkable Animals Top of Page