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Travel Namibia |
Introduction - As both species of Rhino are frequently poached for their horns (which are believed to have medicinal purposes) the Rhino has become the most endangered large animal in Africa. White Rhino's are not white, the name comes from a corruption of 'wide rhino' - the white rhino has wide lips. The white rhino has this wide lip as it is a grazer and uses the lip to eat short grass. Black rhinos have a more hooked lip which they use for plucking vegetation off bushes.
Black Rhino are the more aggressive of the two species and are likely to charge. Rhino can commonly be seen in the Etosha National Park in Namibia, white rhino have also been re-introduced at the Waterberg Plateau Park and roam wild in the river beds of the Kaokoland. The two distinctive horns are in fact very densely packed fibers, and really horns at all.
Diet - Black rhino are browers & White rhino are grazers
Colouring - Grey
Breeding - Most conceptions take place during the wet season, but the Rhino is not a strict seasonal breeder. Calves are born early in the dry season after a gestation period of 16 months, and stays with their mothers for a period of two to three years.
Size - Around 1.8m at the shoulder and weighing up to 2500 kg.