The Black Rhinoceros
Contrary to what the name would lead you to believe, the black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis michaeli) has a slate-gray, very thick skin, heavily folded round the neck and is hairless except for the tip of the tail and the edges of the ears, which are fringed with thick bristles. It is the same color as the white rhinoceros. The only variation in color comes from the mud in which they have been wallowing.
Black rhinos grow to about 4 2/3 feet in height and 3300lb in weight. The usual gestation period for a female is about 17 months. They have an average life span of 40 years.
Black rhinos live in open tree and bush savanna, thorn scrub and lower slopes of mountains. They eat twigs and leaves.
Living mainly alone or in small family groups, the rhino is very territorial. It home range always includes at least one waterhole, preferably with a mud-wallow. On the boundaries each male leaves dung-heaps at regular intervals. He visits these frequently to deposit more droppings which are scattered about with the hid legs and front horn to form a flattened patch, sometimes more than six feet (two meters) across. The probable reason for this is to warn other males that they are trespassing, and to advertise his own presence to single females who may thus be encouraged to enter his territory.
The Black Rhino is short-tempered and will charge an intruder without much provocation. Rhinoceros feed mainly in early morning and late afternoon and frequently drink at night.
A by-product of their horns is used as medicine for rheumatism and was once used as a popular aphrodisiac in parts of Asia but the main use until recently was for traditional, ornate dagger handles worn by the men in Yemen. Consequently, the animals have long been hunted and are now endangered.
Once the most numerous of all rhino species, the black rhino has been the target of the greatest hunting pressure of all. In 1970 the world population of black rhinos was 65,000. By 1980 it dropped to 15,000, and today it is thought that fewer than 3,000 black rhinos remain.
The Indian Rhino
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