ARE BLACK RHINOCEROS EXTINCT SKIN

During daylight hours, these magnificent creatures lay beneath shaded areas and wallow in water holes, utilising the mud as a natural source of protection from pesky bugs and UV rays. Due to their poor eyesight, black rhinos rely on their keen sense of smell and hearing to navigate, locate palatable foliage, and identify the scent trail of fellow black rhinos. The timid, elusive black rhino tends to feed between dusk and dawn, remaining within a relatively small geographical range where it can find abundant vegetation and water. Unfortunately, the increasing incidence of secondary pesticide and plant chemical contamination often renders much of the black rhino’s preferred vegetation unpalatable. When searching for new territory, the black rhino also requires accessible sources of water and mineral licks within an eight to 16-kilometre radius of their residence. In contrast, the white rhino is a grazer, walking with its large head, muscular neck and square-shaped lip close to the ground.īlack rhinos are most likely found in savannahs with nutrient rich soils, low-growing trees, woody vegetation, herbs, and palatable succulents. Their bite produces a neat, angular mark on woody vegetation, similar to pruning shears. It is due to this particular feeding behaviour that the black rhino developed its distinctive lip shape, as their pointed, prehensile lip allows them to grasp branches, hold foliage and pick fruits with ease. They have been known to display a certain fondness for certain vegetation, such as acacia shrubs. Diet and Habitatīlack rhinos are herbivorous browsers, acquiring the majority of their sustenance from picking leaves, branches, twigs, tree bark, and fruits off trees and shrubs. Although incredibly solid and sturdy, a black rhino horn can be damaged or split if used for fighting.Ī black rhino shows off his pointed upper lip at the Etosha National Park, Namibia.

Similarly to our hair and nails, a rhino’s horns will continue to grow throughout their life, extending by up to eight centimetres per year, and can reach lengths of 150 centimetres. Oftentimes confused as ivory, which is derived from elephant trunks, rhino horns are actually made of thousands of fine, compressed strands of keratin. In rare instances, some black rhinos develop an additional posterior horn, although it is much smaller than the two principal horns. For most fully-grown individuals, the anterior horn is typically longer than its posterior horn. Horn size also differs between genders, with males carrying thicker horns and females displaying thinner, longer ones. The unique lip shape of each species is an evolutionary adaptation to suit their distinctive feeding habits.īlack rhinos are one of three species of rhinoceros that have two horns, which can vary in shape and size depending on geographical location. Whilst the white rhino has a wide, square-shaped lip, the black rhino instead sports a pointed, prehensile upper lip (hence the common reference of square-lipped rhinos and hook-lipped rhinos). The key distinguishing feature between the two species is actually the shape of their mouths.

ARE BLACK RHINOCEROS EXTINCT SKIN

Adults reach a height of 1.6 metres and a weight of 900-1,350 kilograms, and usually have a smaller head and neck hump than their “white” counterparts.ĭespite their nomenclature, black and white rhinos are both dark grey in colour although their tendency to wallow in dirt, mud and dust, which varies in soil condition throughout native rhino habitats, can cause a slight difference in skin colour. Of the two African rhinoceros species, the black rhino is the smaller kind. Subspecies: Diceros bicornis minor (Southern Central black rhino), Diceros bicornis bicornis (South Western black rhino), Diceros bicornis michaeli (East African black rhino)

Are black rhinoceros extinct