African Rhinoceros

The Black rhino or the Hook-lipped rhino

The black rhino of Africa is now found only in a few small areas of south western, south central, and eastern Africa. A small number are also found in Cameroon in West Africa.

It has 2 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 savanna grasslands, open woodlands and also in mountain forests.

100 years ago there may have been as many as a million black rhinos in Africa. Now, only about 3,600 black rhinos are left. Most of them live in closely-guarded parks and reserves.

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

The White rhino, found in the grasslands of southern Africa and Democratic Republic of Congo, has 2 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.

Unlike the black rhino, this species is peaceful and quite social. 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 Democratic Republic of Congo 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. Conservation efforts have increased total population to around 11,000.