The black rhino is the rarer and smaller of
Africa’s two rhino species, and also distinguished from the larger white rhino
by its shape, diet and temperament. It is no more ‘black’, however, than its
relative is white: both species acquire their colour from the mud in which they
wallow, so vary from brown to grey.
5 Facts about the Black Rhino
1. This species is also known as ‘hook-lipped
rhino’ from the prehensile upper lip with which it grips the woody plant stems
on which it feeds. The white rhino, by contrast, has a square mouth, which it
uses for grazing.
2. Scientists have identified eight distinct
regional subspecies of black rhino. Three are now extinct and only three – the
eastern, south-central and south-western – still have viable populations.
3. Africa’s black rhino population plummeted from
hundreds of thousands in 1900 to fewer than 2,500 by 2000. Uncontrolled hunting
was to blame: at first for trophies, then to supply the lucrative market for
its horn – mostly in China and the Middle East. Today some 4,300 remain and the
species is classed as Critically Endangered.
4. The black rhino has the highest known combat
death rate for any mammal: some 50% of males meet their end fighting.
5. Black rhinos may look cumbersome, but they can
run at up to 56kph, turn on the spot, and wield their horn with such dexterity
that they can strike a tennis ball thrown towards them.