Black rhinoceros

Background

This information has been reviewed.

When European settlers first began moving into the interior of east and southern Africa in the 19th century, the savannas teemed with wildlife. Even black rhinos, largely solitary animals, were so plentiful that it was not unusual to encounter dozens of them in a single day. However, due to relentless poaching by settlers, the numbers and distribution of black rhinoceros quickly declined in Central, West and Eastern Africa.

Poaching pressure escalated during the 1970s and 1980s as a result of the rising demand for rhino horn in Asia and the Middle East and between 1970 and 1992, the black rhino suffered a 96% decline in numbers. Three subspecies are listed as Critically Endangered in the IUCN (World Conservation Union) Red List, while the fourth is listed as Probably Extinct.

The good news is that most black rhino populations are increasing - slightly and steadily. However, total numbers are still only a fraction of what they were fifty years ago and the few individuals of the West African subspecies (Diceros bicornis longipes) that remained in northern Cameroon probably no longer exist.

Demand in the Middle East eased...
The black rhino remains under threat. Its horn is still in demand for traditional Chinese medicine (it is used as a fever reducer), although the demand for rhino horn for dagger handles in the Middle East may have eased.

...however rhinos remain easy targets
Rhinos are easy targets for poachers and their horn is easily concealed and smuggled across borders. Protecting rhinos effectively is very expensive and requires a lot of manpower.

WWF has been actively supporting rhino conservation initiatives for forty years. Today, the fight for their survival continues through the African Rhino Programme.

Physical Description

The black rhinoceros has two horns, although occasionally a third small posterior horn is present. The anterior horn is longer than the posterior, averaging 50cm long. The species is distinguished from the white rhino by a prehensile upper lip (hence the alternative name of hook-lipped rhino), which it uses to feed on twigs of woody plants and a variety of herbaceous plants.

The black rhino can be found in mud or water wallows, where it cools itself. Sleeping usually occurs at midday, and it feeds mostly during the early morning and in the evening.

The black rhino is the only species of the genus Diceros. There are four recognised subspecies or "ecotypes" and under the new IUCN criteria for level of threat, three are listed as Critically Endangered and one as Probably Extinct.

The Southern-central black rhino (D.b. minor), the most numerous subspecies, inhabited a historic range from central Tanzania down through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa. The South-western black rhino (D.b. bicornis) is more adapted to the arid and semi-arid savannahs of Namibia, southern Angola, western Botswana and western South Africa.

The East African black rhino (D.b. michaeli) which had a historic distribution from south Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia down through Kenya into north-central Tanzania, maintains its current stronghold in Kenya. The West African black (Diceros bicornis longipes) rhino is now feared extinct.

Size
The black rhino's weight ranges from 800 to 1,400 kg.

Colour
The species displays a dark yellow brown colour to dark brown or dark gray.

Habitat

Major habitat type
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas, and Shrublands; Deserts and Xeric Shrublands

Biogeographic realm
Afrotropical

Range States
Cameroon, Kenya, Ethiopia, Namibia, South Africa, Rwanda, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia (re-introduced), Botswana (re-introduced).

Geographical Location
Eastern, central, western, and southern Africa

Ecological Region
East African Acacia Savannas, Central and Eastern Miombo Woodlands, Namib-Karoo-Kaokoveld Deserts, Sudanian Savannas

Interesting Facts

All animals of this species utilize communal dung heaps, sometimes scraping their feet therein and leaving a scent as they travel about.