Rhinoceros
Ceratotherium simum simum
Amazing Fact:
The name white rhino means 'wide' in Afrikaans.
Rhinoceros
The name white rhino does not come from the colour of their skin. It is actually the mis-pronunciation of an Afrikaans word which means 'wide'.
The white rhino has a very wide flat mouth that is adapted for grazing on grass and other vegetation.
Black rhinos, on the other hand, have a narrower mouth with a pointed top lip that is adapted for browsing on trees and shrubs.
White rhinos have poor eyesight but acute senses of hearing and smell, they live in areas of grassland with water, trees and mud wallows – mostly in south Africa. Rhinos are active both during the day and at night. They can spend anything up to 12 hours a day feeding, about 6 hours resting and the rest of the time wallowing, walking or relaxing!
Suki- our female rhino was born in the wild over thirty years ago whereas Sam came to us from Whipsnade zoo. Both Sam and Suki have two horns on their noses, with the one in the front being the longest. In fact they are not true horns like those of a cow.
Rhino horn is made of lots of keratin fibres (similar material to your hair) all matted together. Unfortunately rhinos are killed for their horns which are used in traditional Far Eastern medicines and to make dagger handles in the Middle East.
Today, the Southern white rhino is the most abundant rhino in the world, but it was different in the past. It was one of the first rhino species to be at the brink of extinction, and thought extinct at the end of the 19th century.
Both farmers and hunters had decimated the animals. Nevertheless, a few individuals (50-100) survived and became subject of intense conservation efforts at the beginning of the 20th century. Southern white rhinos have recovered to over 14,000 individuals today. However, poaching pressure still exists.
Find out more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros