If broken, a rhino’s horn will eventually grow back – a process that can take up to three years for a rhino whose horn was removed near the base.īecause rhinos are illegally hunted for their valuable horns, in some parts of Africa conservationists deliberately de-horn the animals, thereby reducing their value to poachers. The rear horn grows to a length of around 56 cm (22 in.). The front horn, the larger of the two, has an average length of 60 cm (25 in), although those of some white rhinos can reach lengths of up to 150 cm (59 in). These are made of keratin – the same natural protein out of which hair and fingernails are made.
The white rhino’s most distinctive feature is the two large horns which adorn its snout. White Rhino Horns The horns of this white rhino have been removed by conservationists to protect it from poachers. Its nostrils are set further apart then those of any other land-based animal. The rhino has small eyes, long ears, and a wide, square-shaped mouth. The species is almost completely hairless.
Information about white rhinoceros skin#
The skin is thick and deeply folded where its limbs join the body. The white rhinoceros has a bulky body with a large head and distinctive humped neck. (The black rhinoceros has pointed, beak-shaped lips.) Despite their names both species are a similar shade of gray! The white rhinoceros has wide, flat lips. The white rhino’s wide, flat lips are the best way of differentiating it from the black rhino – the only other rhino present in Africa – whose lips are pointed.
* Afrikaans is a language widely-spoken in southern Africa. This in turn refers to the animal’s wide lips.
The white rhinoceros is gray rather than white – it is thought that the animal’s misleading name comes from the Afrikaans* word ‘weit’ which means ‘wide’. The cameraman in the video below has a close encounter with a group of white rhinos… With the only living male having died on March 19, 2018, the northern white rhinoceros subspecies is now functionally extinct. cottoni).Īt the time of writing, there are only two northern white rhinoceroses left, both of which are female. simum) and the northern white rhinoceros ( C. The white rhino has two subspecies: the southern white rhinoceros ( C. It is one of two species of rhino found in Africa, and one of the five living species of rhino. The white rhinoceros is fourth-largest land mammal in the world only the three species of elephant are larger. Meet The White Rhinoceros: Introduction A female white rhino with her calf. Also known as the ‘odd-toed ungulates’, this group of hoofed mammals also contains the horses and the tapirs.
A group of rhinos is known as a ‘crash’.Where Found: Southern and eastern Africa.Other Name(s): White rhino, square-lipped rhinoceros.The species is targeted by poachers, and at the time of writing only two northern white rhinos (one of the species’ two subspecies) are left, meaning the subspecies is virtually extinct. It is found in the savannas of southern Africa, where it spends most of its time grazing and wallowing in mud. The white rhinoceros is the largest of the five living rhino species.
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