Diceros bicornis

Length: 290-375 cm (9.5-12’)

Height: 137-180 cm (54-71")

Tail: 60-70 cm (24-28")

Weight: 700-1 400 kg (1,540-3,086 lb.)

Status: They are endangered. There are less than 3,000 left and this number is declining despite protective measures! Some 90% of Africa’s black rhinos were killed for their horns by poachers between 1970 and 1995. The horns were then sold, primarily, to the country of Yemen were they were used to make handles for ceremonial daggers.

Habitat: The black rhino is a browser and is found where trees and shrubs are found. This includes semi-desert thornbush, wooded savannas, montane forests, wetlands and open savannas.

Food: Black rhinos eat over 200 different plants including herbs and shrubs.

Role: herbivore

Rhinos need to drink every four or five days. They can get some of their liquid needs from chewing water-rich succulent tree leaves and branches.

Predators: Lions and spotted hyenas will prey on calf rhinos. Humans have exterminated the rhino from much of its former range.