White rhinoceros - Threats
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The price of being unaggressive
Uncontrolled hunting in the colonial era, and poaching, were historically the major factors in the decline of African rhinos, with loss of habitat to agriculture and human settlement of secondary importance.
The white rhino is particularly vulnerable to hunting, because it is relatively unaggressive and occurs in herds. Most northern white rhino populations had been wiped out by the middle of the twentieth century.