| Scientific
Name: Diceros bicornis
Size: 1.6 metres at shoulder
Weight: 1300 kgs
IUCN Endangered Species:
Critically Endangered
Estimated Wild Population: 3000
Distribution: East & Southern
Africa
Description: The
black rhino is smaller than its white relative and lives a more solitary
life. Unlike the white
rhino it is a browser rather than a grazer.
Its mouth parts and body posture are specially adapted for this
kind of diet and has a triangular lip for more efficient feeding from
branches. It stands in a
much more upright position which again helps it to feed above ground
height. The black rhino was
once the most widespread and numerous of the world’s five rhino
species and close to a million individuals roamed Africa during the
early years of the 20th century.
Poaching for its horn reached its peak during the 1970s and 1980s
when the trade for rhino daggers in Yemen increased.
After intensive protection, the black rhino is now starting to
increase in number, particularly in South Africa and Namibia.
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