There are 2 species of Rhinoceros in Southern Africa, the White Rhino and the Black Rhino. Although they are the same colour, the black Rhinoceros is far smaller, while the White Rhino has a pronounced hump. Another significant difference is that Black Rhino is far more aggressive than the White Rhino. They will charge with little or no provocation and really live up to their reputation and classification as dangerous game. White rhino on the other hand tend to be quite docile under most circumstances and should not be aggressive unless given a reason to be so.

Therefore it is of critical importance to be able to identify which rhino species you have come across whenever they are encountered in the field. Mothers with calves of either species are only to be observed at a safe distance.

The White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum

The White Rhino was first described by Burchell in 1817 and differs from the Black in a number of physical ways. The White has a square mouth, as opposed to the black’s hooked lipped mouth. In fact White is a derivation of the Dutch word “wijd” meaning wide, referring to its mouth.

The White Rhino is the largest of the pure grazers. Its wide square mouth enables it to graze very efficiently on short green grass. The grass is cropped by the action of its sensitive lips, and not cut with its teeth. Up to 30 species of grass constitute the White Rhino’s diet. This is in contrast to the black rhino, who is a browser. White rhino often drink twice daily, usually from dusk onwards, and are quite dependent on water availability.

Adult males are solitary animals and maintain and defend defined territories. All the available range is divided up, and held by two thirds of the mature bulls. The other third of the male population live as satellites on the territories. The owner of the territory may become conditioned to their presence, if they are appropriately submissive in his presence.

The bulls generally hold their territory for around three years before being usurped. Adult bulls pronounce their territory by frequent urine spraying, as well as maintaining a midden. These middens are places chosen by the bulls as their own personal “out houses”, and they return to use them frequently.

Identifying the particular species by examining its midden is easy to do. Simply look at the composition of the dung. Since white rhino are purely grazers their dung is quite fine and only contains grass. Black rhino dung, on the other hand is quite coarse and consists of twigs, sticks, pieces of bark, thorns and even the remains of leaves.

The adult females by contrast live in overlapping home ranges within these territories. They are rarely solitary, associating in pairs or with their most recent offspring (the gestation period is 16 months). A juvenile is rejected at two to three years, when its mother calves again. It then attaches itself to a conspecific of the same age and sex. Adult males only associate with the females to check if they are in oestrus. If they are, the male will remain with her for a while.

The Black Rhino, Diceros bicornis

In direct contrast to the white species, black rhino are exclusively browsers. In certain areas black rhino have been recorded eating up to 75 different woody species. Using their prehensile upper lip the animal selectively bites off its preferred shoots, consuming the twigs, thorns, sticks as well as the leaves. They are classed as selective feeders as they will actively avoid dry or dead material. They will also occasionally knock down small trees in order to reach the newer succulent growth. They have been recorded eating small quantities of grass, but only during the wet season. Black rhino also seem to have definite preferences, particularly for Spirostachys Africana – the Tamboti tree.

Just like adult white rhino males, black rhino males are solitary animals. They don’t defend specific territories, but do tend to remain within defined home ranges, which may overlap with the home ranges of other rhinos. When adult males meet they tend to be aggressive towards one another, but prefer to avoid contact. Serious confrontation occurs when two males fight over a female in oestrus. The concept of middens was dealt with earlier, but black rhino exhibit a behaviourism not seen among white rhino, where they deliberately scrape the dung after it has been deposited.

A female reaches sexual maturity at 6.5 years old. After a gestation of 15 months a single calf weighing ± 40 Kg ( 88lbs.) is born. It can walk three hours later and is weaned at approximately a year old. At two to four years of age the calf is rejected to fend for itself. However from birth to rejection mothers are fiercely protective of their offspring and one observation saw a mother attack and kill a lion.

Rhino Conservation

Other than the White Rhino and Black Rhino there are three other species world-wide: the Sumatran, the Javan and the Indian Rhinoceros. Contrary to popular western belief, the horn is not valued in the east for its supposed aphrodisiac properties, but rather for its medicinal properties. And even here it is not used to treat bizarre or life threatening disease, but is just one ingredient in remedies for illnesses ranging from the common cold to a headache. The horn does not contain any pharmacological properties. The horn is also valued in the middle east, particularly Yemen by some cultures as ornamental dagger handles.

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Conservation of rhinoceros of both local species has been phenomenal in South Africa. With the increase of European settlement into Southern Africa in the 17th Century, all game species, but particularly the rhino, were severely affected by hunting. By the end of the 19th Century only 50 – 100 white rhino remained alive, and these were confined to the KwaZulu / Natal region.

As a result of this the Hluhluwe-Umfolozi Game Reserve was proclaimed in 1897. The black rhino did no better and only 100 individuals were left by the early 1930′s with both species being completely extinct in all of their former habitats with the exception of KwaZulu / Natal. Due to enormous and dedicated efforts, these species were literally pulled back from the brink of total extinction. To date nearly 3500 white rhino and 200 black rhino have been bred and translocated back into areas where they once existed. Today the white rhino numbers 6000 – 7000, and the black rhino just under 2000.

Source: Wildlife Campus