The Rhino or Rhinoceros is another of the “big five” and is in the family Rhinocerotidae. Two of the species in this family are native to Africa and three to southern Asia. The three species that are most endangered are the Javan Rhino, Sumatran Rhino and The Black Rhinoceros. The Indian Rhino is also endangered with less than 2700 remaining in the wild. The White Rhino is registered as vulnerable with around 14,500 remaining in the wild.

The Rhinoceros family is branded by the large size and all of the species are capable of achieving a weight of around a ton or more. They have a herbivorous diet and a thick protective skin that is around 1.5 – 5 cm thick and the skin is formed from layers of collagen positioned in a lattice structure and is highly impenetrable when compared with other animals. They have relatively small brains for mammals of their size – around 400 – 600 grams) and of course the large horn.

They generally eat leafy substances although their ability to ferment food in their gut means they can eat more fibrous plant matter if need be. Unlike other perissodactyls, the African species of the Rhinoceros lack teeth at the front of their mouths meaning they rely on their powerful premolar and molar teeth to grind up their plant food.

They browse for food in the morning and evening. In the hottest part of the day they are most inactive spent resting, sleeping and wallowing in the mud. Wallowing is an essential part of all rhino species lives. It helps cool down their body temperature during the day and protects against parasites. If mud is not available they will resort to wallowing in dust. Drinking water is most commonly done towards the after hours.

Prized for its horn the Rhino is a large herbivore whose horns are made of keratin which is the same type of protein that makes up hair and fingernails. The horn is not itself made of hair which was what was previously believed. Both African species of the Sumatran Rhino have two horns while Indian and Javan Rhino’s have a single horn. Another fact that is interesting is that Rhinoceroses have acute hearing and sense of smell, but poor eyesight, but most live to be about 60 years old or more.

In Africa the most popular Rhino is the Black Rhinoceros or Diceros bicornis, also colloquially Black Rhino, which is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

Although the Rhino is referred to as black, it is actually more of a grey/brown/white color in appearance. The name of the species was chosen to distinguish it from the White Rhinoceros. This is misleading, as those two species are not really distinguishable by color. The word white in the name “White Rhinoceros” derives from the Afrikaans word for “wide” rather than the color white.

The World Conservation Union (IUCN) announced on 7 July 2006 that one of the four subspecies, the West African Black Rhinoceros, has been tentatively declared as extinct whereas, about 3600 Black Rhinoceros exist in the world.

Tags: holiday, camping, animals, leopard, hotels, lodges, african, vacation, kruger park, safaris