Physical description

The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino, although adults can still reach 1.5 metres in height and weigh in at 1.4 tonnes.

The species is distinguished from the white rhino by a prehensile upper lip (hence the alternative name of hook-lipped rhino), which it uses to feed on twigs of woody plants and a variety of herbaceous plants. They have a particular liking for acacias.

The front horn is the longer of the two horns, averaging 50cm in length.
 

Life cycle

Adult black rhinos are mostly solitary. Mother and daughters may stay together for long periods of time, while a female without offspring may join up with a neighbouring female.

Although females reach sexual maturity at 4-5 years, they do not have their first calf until they are 6.5-7 years old. Males need to wait until they are 10-12 years old before they can claim a territory and mate. Black rhinos may reach 40-50 years of age.

During courtship, conflicts over a female may result in the death of one of the competing males.

Breeding occurs throughout the year. The gestation period is between 419 and 478 days, with an average interval of 2.5-3.5 years between calves. Black rhino calves begin to wean at about 2 months of age.

Distribution

Black rhinos were once found throughout sub-Saharan Africa with the exception of the Congo Basin. Even though they are largely solitary animals, they were once so plentiful that it was not unusual to encounter dozens in a single day.

However, relentless hunting by European settlers saw their numbers quickly decline. By the end of the 1960s, they had disappeared or mostly disappeared from a number of countries, with an estimated 70,000 surviving on the continent.

And then they were hit by a poaching epidemic, which started in the early 1970s - effectively eliminating most black rhinos outside conservation areas as well as severely reducing their numbers within national parks and reserves. About 96% of black rhinos were lost to large-scale poaching between 1970 and 1992.

In 1993, only 2,475 black rhinos were recorded. But thanks to successful conservation and anti-poaching efforts, the total number of black rhinos has grown to around 5,000.

The species is currently found in patchy distribution from Kenya down to South Africa. However, almost 98% of the total population is found in just 4 countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

There are three subspecies after the West African black rhino was declared extinct in 2011:

• Southern-central black rhino (D. b. minor): Most numerous subspecies. Found in South Africa, Zimbabwe, southern Tanzania and reintroduced to Botswana, Malawi, Swaziland and Zambia.
   
• South-western black rhino (D. b. bicornis): More adapted to arid and semi-arid savannahs. Now live in Namibia and South Africa.
   
• East African black rhino (D. b. michaeli): Current stronghold is Kenya, with smaller numbers in northern Tanzania.