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Black Rhinoceros

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Mammals

                iBlack Rhinoceros

                             Conservation status

   Critically endangered (CR)
            Scientific classification

   Kingdom: Animalia
   Phylum:  Chordata
   Class:   Mammalia
   Order:   Perissodactyla
   Family:  Rhinocerotidae
   Genus:   Diceros
   Species: D. bicornis

                                Binomial name

   Diceros bicornis
   Linnaeus, 1758

                                 Subspecies

   Diceros bicornis michaeli
   Diceros bicornis longipes
   Diceros bicornis minor
   Diceros bicornis bicornis

   The Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis also colloquially Black Rhino is
   a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central
   areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa,
   Namibia and Zimbabwe. Although the Rhino is referred to as a "Black"
   creature, it is actually more of a grey-white colour in appearance.

   Like all species of rhinoceros, it is on the endangered species list
   due to excessive poaching for their horns, which are mostly used in
   dagger handles as a symbol of wealth in many countries, and as a
   febrifuge in Chinese traditional medicine. Contrary to popular opinion,
   only small amounts of the horns are consumed as an aphrodisiac. A
   poaching wave in the 1970's and 1980's wiped out over 96% of the Black
   Rhino populations across Africa.

   The name of the species was chosen to distinguish it from the White
   Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum). This is very misleading, as those two
   species are not really distinguishable by colour. The word "White" in
   the name "White Rhinoceros" deriving from the Afrikaans word for "wide"
   rather than the colour white.

   The World Conservation Union (IUCN) announced on 7 July 2006 that the
   West African Black Rhinoceros subspecies (Diceros bicornis longipes)
   has been tentatively declared as extinct.

Anatomy

   An adult Black Rhinoceros stands 143 – 160 cm (56-63 inches) high at
   the shoulder and is 2.86-3.05 m (9.3-10 feet) in length. An adult
   weighs from 800 to 1400 kg (1,760 to 3,080 lb), exceptionally to 1820
   kg (4,000 lb), with the females being smaller than the males. Two horns
   on the skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically
   50 cm long, exceptionally up to 140 cm. Occasionally, a third smaller
   horn may develop. Skin color depends more on local soil conditions and
   their wallowing behavior than anything else, so many black rhinos are
   typically not truly black in colour.

   The Black Rhinoceros is much smaller than the White Rhinoceros, and has
   a pointed, prehensile upper lip, which they use to grasp leaves and
   twigs when feeding. White Rhinoceros have square lips used for grazing
   grass. The Black Rhinoceros can also be recognized from the White
   Rhinoceros by its smaller skull and ears and its more pronounced
   forehead. Black Rhinoceros also do not have a distinguishing shoulder
   hump like the White Rhinoceros.

Reproduction

   The adults are solitary in nature, coming together only for mating.
   Mating does not have a seasonal pattern but births tend to be towards
   the end of the rainy season in drier environments. The gestation period
   is 15 – 16 months; the single calf weighs about 35 – 50 kg at birth,
   and can follow its mother around after just three days. The mother and
   calf stay together for 2 – 3 years until the next calf is born; female
   calves may stay longer, forming small groups. The young are
   occasionally taken by hyenas and lions. Sexual maturity is reached from
   5 years old for females, from 7 years for males, and the life
   expectancy in natural conditions (without poaching pressure) is from 35
   – 50 years.

Ecology

   A black rhinoceros in the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park.
   Enlarge
   A black rhinoceros in the Natural Bridge Wildlife Park.

   The Black Rhinoceros has adapted to its habitat using the following
   characteristics:
     * A thick, layered skin protects the rhino from thorns and sharp
       grasses.
     * The soles of their feet are thickly padded to cushion the legs and
       absorb shock.
     * The upper lip has been adapted for seizing and grasping
       (prehensile) objects which helps in browsing and foraging.
     * The large ears rotate to give directional information on sound
     * The large nose has an excellent sense of smell to detect predators.
     * Two formidable horns are used for defense and intimidation.
     * An aggressive disposition discourages predators. The animal's
       nearsightedness seems to urge the rhino to charge first and
       investigate later.

   The Black Rhinoceros is a herbivorous browser that eats leafy plants,
   branches, shoots, thorny wood bushes and fruit. Their diet helps to
   reduce the amount of woody plants which results in more grasses growing
   for the benefit of other animals.

   Their skin harbours many external parasites, which are eaten by
   oxpeckers and egrets that live with the rhino.

Subspecies

   There are four subspecies of the black rhinoceros:
     * South-central (Diceros bicornis minor) which are the most numerous,
       and once ranged from central Tanzania south through Zambia,
       Zimbabwe and Mozambique to northern and eastern South Africa.
     * South-western (Diceros bicornis bicornis) which are better adapted
       to the arid and semi-arid savannas of Namibia, southern Angola,
       western Botswana and western South Africa.
     * East African (Diceros bicornis michaeli) which had a historic
       distribution from south Sudan, Ethiopia, Somalia down through Kenya
       into north-central Tanzania. Today, its range is limited primarily
       to Tanzania.
     * West African (Diceros bicornis longipes) is the rarest and most
       endangered subspecies. Historically, it once occurred across most
       of the west African savanna. Until recently, only a few individuals
       survived in northern Cameroon, but on July 8, 2006 the World
       Conservation Union declared the subspecies to be tentatively
       extinct.

Population

   For most of the 20th century the continental black rhino was the most
   numerous of all rhino species. Around 1900 there were probably several
   hundred thousand living in Africa. During the latter half of the 20th
   century their number severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the
   late 1960s to only 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981. In the early 1990s the
   number dipped below 2500, and in 1995 it was reported that only 2,410
   black rhinos remained. According to the International Rhino Foundation,
   the total African population has since then slightly recovered to 3,610
   by 2003. According to a July 2006 report by the World Conservation
   Union, a recent survey of the West African Black Rhino, which once
   ranged across the savannahs of western Africa but had dropped to just
   10, concluded the subspecies to be extinct. The northern white is soon
   to join the western black rhino on the extinction list as its last
   noted numbers were as few as 4. The only rhino that has recovered
   somewhat from the brink of extinction is the southern white whose
   numbers now are estimated around 14,500, up from only 50 a century ago.
   Black rhino grazing.
   Enlarge
   Black rhino grazing.
   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Rhinoceros"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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