By David Okul
Black rhinoceros are different from the white rhino in that the latter has a square mouth while the former has a hooked upper lip. They are also smaller as compared to white rhinos. Up to 8 subspecies of black rhinos occur in Africa. Between 1960 and 1995, black rhinos’ populations dropped by a staggering 98% to less than 2,500 individuals in Africa. Concerted conservation efforts have led to the increase of rhino numbers to about 5,500 by writing this post. Regardless, black rhinos are still listed as critically endangered and need all the support to increase their population.
Scientific name | Diceros bicornis |
Weight | 800-kgs up to 1,400 for adults
|
Height | 1.3 meters to 1.8 meters for adults |
Length
| 2.8 meters to 3.8 meters without tail |
Life expectancy | Up to 35 years in the wild and up to 50 years in captivity |
IUCN status | Critically endangered since the early 90s |
Gestation period | 15 to 16 months |
General habits of black rhino
Many know the black rhino as an imposing creature. Moreover, it is known for charging wildly at moving objects. Other characteristics of black rhinos include:
- Black rhinos are relatively sedentary and solitary animals. They can live in one area for the rest of their lifetime.
- Male black rhinos live separate from other rhinos, although they reunite with fellow rhinos at the start of the breeding season. Females live in small groups alongside their calves. However, black rhinos live in groups and usually travel together when feeding.
- Black rhinos are active both in the evening and in the morning. Nevertheless, these creatures are less productive at midday hours.
- Upon detecting danger, they flee while making snorting sounds and curling their tails. Once the threat has passed, they curiously explore the cause of the threat.
- They usually take mud baths to help them cool off.
- Black rhinos have poor eyesight, which prompts them to attack every object, including rocks and trees mistakenly.
- They are not too territorial as they would move in and out each other territories with ease.
- Adult rhinos have no natural predators thanks to their thick skin, power, and dangerous horns.
Feeding habits of black rhinos
Black rhinos are herbivores by nature. They feed on leafy plants, thorny wood bushes, fruits, shoots, and branches. Black rhinos mostly prefer feeding on woody plants, which helps save the grass for other wildlife species that depend on grass as their primary diet. Other feeding habits of black rhinos include:
- Black rhinos are generalist feeders. As such, these creatures don’t feed on a particular type of food. They can consume more than 200 different plant species. They opt for quality over quantity while choosing their diet.
- Black rhinos usually consume water at night. The adult black rhino can drink up to72 liters of water when thirsty. However, black rhinos, especially those residing in dry and hot habitats, can last for up to 5 days without water.
- Black rhinos usually feed for up to 4 hours a day. They exhibit little feeding activity during the early morning hours. Nonetheless, serious feeding among these rhinos takes place from midday to late evening.
Breeding habits of black rhinos
Rhinos are solitary animals except when breeding and when a mother is rearing a calf.
- Like other rhino species, black rhinos are extremely polygamous. One male has exclusive rights to mate with multiple females.
- Breeding among black rhinos takes place all year-round. Nevertheless, these creatures have peak breeding periods. These periods differ significantly among black rhino populations, depending on their geographical location.
- Before breeding starts, black rhinos exhibit courtship behaviors in readiness for mating. These behaviors include sparring with horns and snorting among males.
- Like most animal species, older males are given priority while mating. They scare away younger rhinos to win over the females. Breeding pairs can mate for 2-3 days. Mating can sometimes last for weeks.
- Mating takes place multiple times a day, while copulation can last for about half an hour.
- Females give birth within 15 months after gestation. After birth, the mother hides the calf until it is at least a week old.
Hanoi People’s Court sentence Nguyen Van Pho to 5 years in prison for trafficking 1.9 kg of black rhino horns from Angola (horns will likely have come from Namibia, SA or Botswana) via Bangkok to Vietnam on 7 Nov 2019 https://t.co/1OiW3iaflw pic.twitter.com/Lz7ullKtUP
— Save the Rhino (@savetherhino) June 3, 2020
Threats faced by black rhinos
Poaching is the biggest threat that the black rhinoceros face. The rhino horn is a valuable product within the illegal wildlife trade circles. A kilogram of rhino horn could fetch as much as US$ 60,000 in the black market. Asia consumers (notably China and Vietnam) are usually the market for the horns, where they are used for folk remedies. Political instability in countries like Somalia, Sudan, and Angola have worsened the poaching incidents.
Since the population of rhinos is meager, the threat of inbreeding is high.
Habitat fragmentation is also a threat.
David Okul is an environmental management professional with over 10 years experience on donor projects, conservation, forestry, ecotourism, and community-based natural resources management. When not working on active environmental management projects, I spend my time writing for Silvica on a variety of topics. The views on this blog post are personal.
