the black rhino

The Black Rhino

By Benjamin F.

The Black Rhino is in critical condition because of hunters in Africa where it generally lives. They are mainly prized for their horns and hunters have decimated the population of them because of this. Image by: SarahDepper

“Black Rhinoceros”

Classification

Kingdom – AnimaliaPhylum – ChordataClass – MammaliaInfraclass – EutheriaOrder – PerissodactylaFamily – RhinocerotideaGenus – DicerosSpecies – Bicornis

Scientific name:Diceros bicornis

• Also called the “Hook-Lipped” Rhinoceros.

“Black Rhinoceros”

Image by: Frank.Vassen

Morphology

• Small brain

• Long horn

• Thick skin formed by collagen

• Teeth

• Lips

• They are not black: they are grey

“Rhinoceros”

Image by: Frank.Vassen

Feeding Habits

• Herbivore (Wildlife Africa)

• Leaves(Wildlife Africa)

• Fruits (Wildlife Africa)

• Herbs (Wildlife Africa)

• Flowers (Wildlife Africa)

• Go up to 5 days without water ( Black Rhino)

• Eat up to 220 species of plants ( Black Rhino)

Image by: Just Chaos

Reproduction

• Courtship includes snorting and sparring

• Repeated several times over 2-3 days

• Last about 30 minutes

• Weighs about 35 Kg

• gestation is 15 months

• Calf follows mother everywhere

• Fertilization internally

“Wildlife Africa”

Image by: USFWS Headquarters

Adaptions

• Prehensile lip to gather leaves and flowers

• 2 sharp horns to ward off predators

• They charge at attackers

• Run at 30 miles per hour

• Swing their heads to defend themselves

Image by: Az Jade

“The Black Rhinoceros”

Descriptions of Traits

The lip of the Black Rhino is pointed and is used like a hand to rip off leaves and flowers from shrubs and trees.

The horns of the Black Rhinoceros are used for sparing with other males during the mating season and for defense when a predator tries to attack it.Image by: RockinDave1

Habitat

• The Black Rhinoceros called a variety of habitats home. The habitat of the Black Rhino is mostly low-lying shrub land with occasional trees and oasis scattered about.

• They where once found throughout most of Sub-Sahara Africa but counting the recent decimations of the population they are only found in some parts of Africa now

• The Deserts of Namibia to wooded grasslands and acacia savannahs are some of the only places that they are found on Earth.

Image by: Kibacchi

“Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis)”

Threats

• The threats to this Black Rhinoceros are mainly Anthropogenic. They are hunted for their horns. People will shoot them and kill them, then cut off their tusks and leave the rest of the animal to rot.

• These humans that kill them are called poachers and they sell the horns to rich people who want furniture or knife handles made out of the horn.

Image by: Andrew_Ross

“Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis)”

Population Distribution

• This species has multiple reports of the estimated number of species.

• The estimates are between 2,500 at the lowest and 4,000 at the highest.

• This species has reached the point of critically endangered. If nothing stops in perhaps the next three to five years, this species could only be found in zoos.

“Black Rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis)”

Fun Facts

• Name is false actually grey

• Has two horns made of keratin (hair, fingernails)

• 96% of the population lost between 1970 and 1992

• Black Rhino has a cousin named the White Rhinoceros and they have completely different traits

• This species has only about 3,760 animals living in the wild.

Image by: Derek Keats

“Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis)”

Sites Dedicated to helping Rhinos

http://www.awf.org/section/wildlife/rhinos

http://worldwildlife.org/species/rhino

These are only two of the many organizations that are trying to help the Black Rhino survive. Some of these many organizations are just collecting money to send out to try to protect them. Some organizations a promoting awareness. The ones that really are in the front lines are using a new technique where they cut the horns off of the Rhino so they won’t be a target. This has worked but then the Rhino cannot sufficiently protect itself from natural predators such as lions

Fun Facts Cont.

• Some countries have tried the tactic of dehorning the Rhinos to make them not a target to hunters.

• The rhinoceros got it’s name for its horns.

• They are made out of the same material our fingernails are made out of.

• They are related to the zebra and the horse.

Image by: Chadica

“Black Rhino”

Movie

Movie by: National Geographic

Works CitedWeb: Flickr. Yahoo!, n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. "Black Rhinoceros." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 27 Nov. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012.

<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rhinoceros>. "Rhinoceros." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 12 Oct. 2012. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. http://

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rhinoceros "Wildlife Africa- Black Rhino, Behavior, Africa, Wilflife." Wildlife Africa- Black Rhino, Behavior, Africa,

Wilflife. N.p., n.d. Web. 11 Dec. 2012. <http://www.wildlifeafrica.co.za/blackrhinobehavior.html>. "Black Rhino - Diceros Bicornis." RRC: Black Rhino. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.rhinoresourcecenter.com/species/black-rhino/>. "The Black Rhinoceros." Adapations, Traits, Relationships -. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

<http://blackrhinoceros.wetpaint.com/page/Adapations, Traits, Relationships>. "Black Rhinoceros (Diceros Bicornis)." Black Rhinoceros Photo. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.arkive.org/black-rhinoceros/diceros-bicornis/image-G112062.html>. "Saving the Black Rhino." YouTube. YouTube, 17 Apr. 2008. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ilF0nU_d0CY>.

Images: SarahDepper Frank.Vassen Just Chaos USFWS Headquarters Derek Keats RockinDave1 Andrew_ross Kibacchi Chadica