Rhinoceros (Rhino) in South Africa

 
 

In SA you'll find the White (Square lipped) Rhinoceros & the Black Rhino

Black Rhinoceros (Swart Renoster)

Diceros bicornis

The black rhino is characterised by an elongated upper lip overlapping the lower lip. Black Rhinoceros is dark grey in colour and adult males reaches a height of about 1.6 meters at the shoulder.

Black rhinos give birth to a single calf after a gestation period of 15 months and have a mass of 30 - 40 kilograms. Black rhino calves canters behind or alongside their mothers.

Black rhinos are more irritable then white rhinos and are prone to attack people and even vehicles.

After becoming extinct in the Kruger National Park black rhinos were re-introduced into the park during the 1970's.

Currently there are well over a 100 black rhinoceros in the Kruger National Park.   

White Rhinoceros (Witrenoster)

Ceratotherium simun

After the elephant, the white rhinoceros is the largest land mammal in Africa. With an average weight of 2 800 kilograms the white rhino is twice the weight of the black rhino and normally reaches a height of 1.8 meters at the shoulders. They are characterised by their broad, squire upper lip.

White rhinos give birth to a single calf like the black rhino, but the calf weighs about 40 kilograms and is born after 16 months. The white rhino calf tends to run ahead of its mother.

White rhinos tend to be more placid towards people and other white rhinos then black rhinos. They will rather move away from interference.

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