Black RhinoThe largest black rhino horn ever to be found is 1.5 m! These amazing animals are classified as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Which means that they are probably going to be extinct forever in 2017. The Western black Rhino is already extinct. But the eastern black rhino is vulnerable which means that they are slowly recovering from extinction. Read to find out what the black rhino eats, its habitat, its characteristics and much, much, more.
Black rhinos mostly live in grasslands, forests, and floodplains in Southern and Eastern Africa. But they once roamed most of the the Sub- Saharan Africa. Like almost all of the other creatures that live in Africa they probably had a wider range in the Northern part of the continent prehistorically than today. Archaeologists have found fossils of a rhino of some sort, but we don't know if it is the white rhino or the black rhino, but the fossils are probably black rhinos because there is a little more evidence of the black rhino living there then the white rhino. They were found in the extremely dry parts of the Kalahari desert. Their gestation period is about 15 to 16 months. The Black Rhinos usually have a very strong bond between the mother and the calf when the calf is very young and also the two adults have a very strong bond while they are mating. The average adult black rhinos height is usually 4.3-5.9 ft. at the shoulder. Without getting hurt they live for about 30-50 years. Their mass is usually 1,800- 3,100 lbs. The females are smaller than the male. The black rhino is much smaller than the white rhino, but it is very close in size to the Javan Rhino of Indonesia. Their horns are used for defence, intimidation, and digging up roots also breaking branches while feeding.The black rhino's skin is used to protect them from thorns and sharp grasses. But their skin also gets chapped very easily. Because their skin is almost like are lips but stronger. Their skin also grows stuff like ticks and then egrets and oxpeckers eat them. Also black rhinos can't see that well so they rely on their sense of smell and hearing to guide them to where they need to go and to know if a predator is near them. By their behavior you can usually tell that they are black rhinos. Black rhinos are often known to have a place that they go to sleep or relax and eat that is basically their home. It is generally on high ground. Generally` you see more females than males because the moms are feeding the young or bringing them to watering holes. People have studied black rhinos sleep patterns and it is scientifically proven that males sleep longer than females by double the time. Also it kind of matters were they decide where to sleep. They sleep at different times when they are in captivity. The black rhino is known to be very aggressive e, and they charge at whatever threats they may encounter,even if the threat is a tree or a termite mound. But sadly they fight each other for mates and food and definitely watering holes. 50% of males and 30% of females die in combat or because of open wounds from combat. They are very fast and can get up to 55 kilometers per hours (54 mph) running on their toes. Their large ears can rotate to pick up sound from many directions. The black rhino mostly eats greens and plants. Like leafy plants like grasses and ferns . Also they will eat thorny wood bushes and fruit, fruit is like their dessert. Once scientists believe that they saw a black rhino prey on an alligator. And if there is a tiny tree they might eat that. They don't really have any predators but when the black rhino is very young a hyena or any big wild cat will attack. They usually attack the mother because she who is with the young. Then when the mother is so wounded that she can't get up and protect her baby it will attack depending on the size of the baby and eat or just attack it and leave to suffer. But if the baby is too strong it will leave it all alone and not do anything especially if the young is strong but his or her mother is wounded they are very touchy. So as you can see the black rhino is amazing and awesome. They also have special traits that make them unique that is why I picked the black rhino to research on and write about. |
Gallery |
Proudly powered by Weebly