Black Rhino
What sets black rhinos apart?
Did you know that there are actually five different species of rhino in the world? Two of these species live in Africa, the black rhino and the white rhino!
Black rhinos are the smaller of the two African rhino species and despite their name, both black and white rhinos are actually grey. The most notable difference between
white and black rhinos are their hooked upper lip, compared to the white rhinos’ square lip. Black rhinos also have a smaller head.
Black rhinos have two horns, which never stop growing! The front horn is longer than the rear horn and can grow to around 50 cm long, that’s about as long as a pet cat. Male rhinos tend to have thicker horns, whereas the females often have longer and thinner ones. Their horns are not like those of other horned animals, but is made of a material called keratin which is like your hair and fingernail fibres; it is extremely tough, but can be broken or split during fighting.
Where do black rhinos live?
Black rhinos can be found throughout southern and eastern Africa, including Kenya, Tanzania, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe.
How do black rhinos spend their day?
Black rhinos prefer to be solitary, meaning that they live alone, yet they may be quite territorial and aggressive. However, depending on their habitat some may be semi-social and less protective of their home, especially if there is plenty of space and food!
Black rhinos can be active during both the day and night, but tend to rest during the hottest part of the day. At this time they will usually find some shade under trees, large rocks. They also love to roll around in cool, squelchy mud!
Black rhinos can often be seen with birds, called red and yellow-billed ox-peckers on their back. They spend the day removing ticks and clearing parasites, but also by raising the alarm if there is any danger approaching.
The most common noises made by rhinos are sniffing and snorting sounds, particularly when they are disturbed. Instead of speaking like humans, rhinos often grunt as a way of talking to each other!
Another interesting way that rhinos communicate is through ‘scent-marking’. It is the most important method of communication for rhinos. Urine spraying is a common form of scent-marking as well as dung, or poo piles, known as ‘middens’. Black rhinos may also leave their smell against a rock or tree by rubbing their head to mark out their territory. It might sound a bit yucky to us, but for rhinos, smells are one of the best ways to say ‘hello’!
The gestation period, or pregnancy, of a rhino is 15 to 16 months, that’s much longer than a human pregnancy! But like humans, female rhinos will often have just one baby or ‘calf’ at a time. Rhino calves can weigh between 30 and 45 kilograms and can usually stand within the first few hours after being born. Black rhino calves stay with their mother for up to 4 years, learning about everything they’ll need to know to survive in the wild.
What do black rhinos eat?
Black rhinos are browsers rather than grazers, this means that they like to snack on leaves, shoots and twigs instead of grass; and their pointed lip helps them feed on leaves from bushes and trees. The rhinoceros is a herbivore, meaning that they will only eat plants!
Why are black rhinos so important?
Rhinos have been around for millions of years and are one of the oldest groups of mammals. They play an important role in their habitats, helping to maintain the ecosystem they live in, and to shape the landscape. This in turn benefits other animals.
Rhinos are one of the ‘Big Five’ African animals, so people travel from all around the world to see them in their natural habitat. This is called ‘ecotourism’, and the money spent by these tourists is used to protect rhinos, create jobs and support local communities!
