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THE BLACK RHINO
(diceros bicornis)
Although the Rhino is referred to as black, it is grey in colour.The name of the species was chosen simply to distinguish it from the White Rhino.The two species are the same colour. About 3600 Black Rhinoceros exist in the world.
The World Conservation Union (IUCN) announced on 7 July 2006 that one of the four subspecies, the West African Black Rhino has been declared Extinct.
Black Rhino stand 5-6ft at the shoulder. They are much smaller than the White Rhino & have a prehensile upper lip, which it uses to grasp leaves when feeding. The Black Rhino also has a smaller skull and ears, & don't have a shoulder hump like the White Rhino.They have terrible eyesight, relying more on hearing and smell.
For most of the 20th century it was the most numerous of all rhino. From several hundred thousand a century ago to an all time low in 2004 of 2,410.
The Black Rhino has a reputation for being extremely aggressive. They attack out of fear, confusion and panic. Due to their very poor eyesight they will charge if they sense a threat.
The Black Rhino is a herbivorous browser that eats leafy plants, branches, shoots, thorny wood bushes and fruit. Black Rhinos live in primarily grasslands, savannahs and tropical bushland habitats.
There are four subspecies of the black rhino:
- South-central (Diceros bicornis minor) which are the most numerous, and once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia & Zimbabwe to northern and eastern South Africa.
- South-western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) which are better adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia.
- East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli) its range is limited primarily to Tanzania.
- West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) is an extinct subspecies. Historically, it once occurred across most of the west African savanna. Until recently, only a few individuals survived in northern Cameroon.
THE WHITE RHINO
(Ceratotherium simum)
The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped rhinoceros is well known for its wide square mouth used for grazing and for being the most social of all the rhino. The White Rhino is the most common of all rhinos and consists of two subspecies with the northern subspecies being rarer than the southern. The northern subspecies have as few as 8 remaining world-wide – all in captivity - The wild population is LIKELY EXTINCT as of late 2008
A popular theory of the origins of the name White Rhinoceros. The word "wide" refers to the width of the Rhinoceros mouth. So early European settlers in South Africa misinterpreted the "wyd" for "white" and the rhino with the wide mouth ended up being called the White Rhino.
Their population is about 17,000 making them the most abundant subspecies of rhino in the world. This rhino weighs 2 ton & has a head-and-body length of 3.5-4m and a shoulder height of 5-6ft The White Rhinoceros also has a noticeable hump on the back of its neck which supports its large head
.White Rhinoceros are found in grassland and savannah habitat. It spends about half of the day eating, one third resting, and the rest of the day doing various other things. White Rhinos, like all rhino, love wallowing in mudholes to cool down.
Shown below: NORTHERN WHITE RHINO, Now presumed extinct in the wild
THE INTERNATIONAL RHINO FUND OF NEW ZEALAND
CONTACT US: enquiries@rhinofund.org.nz
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