Rhino Facts
SPECIES:
| BLACK RINOCEROS (DICEROS BICORNIS) |
STATUS:
| ENDANGERED |
DISTRIBUTION:
| Eastern and southern Africa from southern Chad and Sudan to South Africa. |
HABITAT:
| Scrubland and woody savannah. |
FOOD:
| Twigs and leaves. |
SIZE:
| 3 - 3.75m (10 - 12.5ft); 800 - 1,400kg (1,760 - 3030b) |
MATURITY:
| 4 - 6 years (F) or 7 - 9 years (M) |
BREEDING:
| Sinlge calf born every 2 - 5 years |
LIFE SPAN:
| 45 years |
THREATS:
| The main threat facing the black rhino, is man. Poachers kill rhino, not for meat for food, but to get the horns which they sell. Rhino horn is highly valued in certain parts of the world for medicinal and cultural reasons. The horn is made of a mass of fibres attached to the skin of the rhino's snout, and is similar to fingernails and hooves. In early times, the horn was made into drinking cups which were believed to detect poison.
Different medicines are being promoted in Far East countries to reduce the demand for rhino horn. By reducing the demand conservationists hope the value of the horn will fall and that this in turn will persuade poachers to stop killing rhinos. Unfortunately the current high prices paid for rhino horn encourage an illegal trade. |
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Close view of the two horns on a southern black rhinoceros
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A captive southern white rhinoceros guards its young
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Black rhinoceroses in the grasslands of Ngorongoro Crater
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