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rhino
Serious Desert
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    • Get the Facts on Rhinos!
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  • Did you know that the black rhino is actually grey? They sometimes look darker when they have been wallowing in mud.


  • Black rhinos have massive bodies and short stumpy legs. Males can weigh up to 3,000 lbs.


  • Rhinos have two horns made from keratin, which is the same protein that makes up human hair and nails.


  • The black rhino is also known as the hook-lipped rhinoceros, as their upper lip sticks out beyond their lower one. They are herbivores, and use their pointed top lip to browse on leaves, buds, shoots and twigs.


  • Black rhinos need to drink fresh water every day, and spend a lot of time wallowing in waterholes to help keep themselves cool. The mud sticks to their skin, and acts as protection from the sun's baking heat.


  • Female rhinos give birth every three years to a single calf. Young rhinos suckle from their mothers for about 12 months, but begin to graze for food after a few weeks. Black rhinos are solitary animals, and only females and their young remain together for any length of time.


  • Black rhinos are critically endangered. The main populations live in reserves in South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania and Kenya. There are fewer than 3,000 left in the wild. It is thought that 90 percent of rhinos are killed by poachers for their horns.
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    Pictures: AP |
    Contributors: BBC |

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