The White Rhino has a
massive body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. The average size
range of a mature rhino is a weight of 1800-3000 kg (4000-6600 lb), a
head-and-body length of 3.35-4.2 m (11-13.9 feet) and a shoulder height of
150-185 cm (60-73 inches). The record-sized White Rhinoceros was about 3600 kg.
On its snout it has two horns made of keratin fibres as in human fingernails
and hair, rather than bone as in deer antlers. The front horn is larger that
the other horn and averages 89.9 cm (23.6 inches) in length and can reach 150
cm (59 inches). The White Rhinoceros also has a noticeable hump on the back of
its neck which supports its large head. Each of the rhino's four stumpy feet
has three toes. The colour of this animal ranges from yellowish brown to slate
grey. The only hair on them is on the ear fringes and tail bristles. White
Rhinos have the distinctive flat broad mouth which is used for grazing.
Its ears can move
independently to pick up more sounds but it depends most of all on smell. The
olfactory passages which are responsible for smell are larger than their entire
brain.
They are found in grassland
and savannah habitat. Herbivores grazers that eats grass, preferring the
shortest grains. The White Rhino is one of the largest pure grazers. Regularly
it drinks twice a day if water is available, but if conditions get dry it can
live four or five days without water. It spends about half of the day eating,
one third resting and the rest of the day doing various other things. White
Rhinos like all species of rhino love wallowing in mudholes to cool down.
White
Rhinos enjoying a wallow in the mud.
White rhinos can produce
sounds which include a panting contact call, grunts and snorts during courtship,
squeals of distress, and deep bellows or growls when threatened. Threat
displays (in males mostly) include wiping its horn on the ground and a head-low
posture with ears back, combined with snarl threats and shrieking if attacked. Can
reach speeds of 18 mph which it can maintain for up to 2 miles, and a galloping
speed of 25 mph.
White Rhinos can live in
groups of up to 14 animals (usually mostly female). Sub-adult males will
congregate, often in association with an adult female. Most adult bulls are solitary.
Dominant bulls mark their territory with excrement and urine. The dung is laid
in well defined piles. It may have 20-30 of these piles to alert passing rhinos
that its his territory. Another way of marking their territory is wiping his
horns on bushes or the ground and scrapes with its feet before urine spraying. They
do this around 10 times an hour while patrolling territory. The same ritual as
urine marking except without spraying is also commonly used. The territorial
male will scrape-mark every 30 yards or so around its territory boundary. Subordinate
males do not mark territory. The most serious fights break out over mating
rights over a female. Female territory is overlapped extensively and they do
not defend it.
Females reach sexually
maturity 4-5 years while males reach sexual maturity at a later date which is
10-12 years of age. Courtship is often a difficult affair. The male stays
beyond the point were the female acts aggressively and will give out a call
when approaching her. The male chases and or blocks the way of the female while
squealing or loud-wailing if the female tries to leave his territory. When
ready to mate the female curls its tail and gets into a stiff stance during the
half hour copulation. Breeding pairs stay together between 5-20 days before
they part their separate ways. Gestation occurs around 16-18 months. A single
calf is born and weighs between 88 and 143 pounds and are unsteady for their
first 2 to 3 days of life. When threatened the baby will run in front of the
mother. The mother is very protective of her calf and will fight for her baby
vigorously. Weaning starts at 2 months and may continue suckling for over 12
months. The birth interval for the White Rhino is between 2 and 3 years. Before
giving birth the mother will chase off her current calf. White Rhinos can live
up to 40-50 years old.
The northern subspecies is
now only found in the Democratic Republic of Congo while the southern
subspecies or majority of white rhino live in South Africa. 98.9% of white
rhino occur in just four countries (South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya).
Almost decimated to the brink of extinction in early 20th century they have
made a tremendous comeback. In 2001 it was estimated that there was 11,670
white rhino in the wild with a further 777 in captivity worldwide making it the
most common Rhino in the world.
Like the Black Rhino, the
White Rhino is under threat from habitat loss and poaching, most recently by an
offshoot of the janjaweed. The horn is mostly used for traditional medicine
although there are no health benefits from the horn. Poaching also has occurred
for jambiyas which is a dagger used in the Middle East. A recent population
count in the Congo turned up only 10 rhinos left in the wild, which led
conservationists in January 2005 to propose airlifting White Rhinos from Garamba
into Kenya. Although official approval was initially obtained, resentment of
foreign interference within the Congo has prevented the airlift from happening
as of the beginning of 2006.
Wikipedia