Eastern black rhinoceros

在动物园里

Across from the Lion House outdoor grottoes.

令人着迷的事实

• Black rhinos can move at speeds up to 40 miles per hour for short distances!
• Like horses, rhinos run and walk on their toes.
• Both the black rhino and white rhino are grey in color; color can vary as rhinos take on whatever color mud they happen to have rolled in.

身体特征

An adult black rhinoceros can weigh up to 3,000 pounds with a body length of 10 to 12.5 feet. A thick, wrinkled, tough hide protects the rhino as it pushes its way through the thorny acacia trees and bushes it likes to eat. The rhino uses its prehensile upper lip to strip nutritious leaves off tough branches.

The black rhinoceros is distinguished by two large horns on its nose, the front one being the largest. These horns can measure up to 50 inches in length and are made primarily of hardened, compressed keratin fibers, similar to those found in hair, on a bony base. They have relatively small eyes and poor eyesight. Their excellent sense of smell and hearing help them detect and identify their surroundings, and black rhinos may charge when they perceive a threat or are startled.

Life span is 35-50 years in the wild.

栖息地

Black rhinoceros range in eastern and southern parts of Africa (South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe), inhabiting bushy plains, dense brush, open forests, grassy plains and sometimes semi-arid regions. Access to water is important, although black rhinos can survive in relatively dry environments.

饮食

Black rhinos are herbivores and are browsers, not grazers. In the wild, they eat bushes and shrubs, preferring acacia, twigs and new growth. At the Zoo, the rhinos are fed a diet of alfalfa, hay, fruits, vegetables, browse and acacia.

社交行为

Although black rhinos use several different vocalizations, they typically rely more on scent marking to communicate. By urine-spraying shrubs and rocks and also using communal dung heaps rhinos mark their trails and territory borders.

These rhinos feed in the morning and evening and sleep in the shade or in a wallow during the hottest part of the day. Wallowing in mud helps to keep them cool, and gives them protection from flies and biting insects. Rhinos are often accompanied by tick birds and cattle egrets, which feed on insects stirred up by the rhinos’ feet.

Black rhinos are solitary animals, only coming together to mate. Breeding occurs throughout the year, females generally reach sexual maturity at around 3.5 to 5 years, while males may reach sexual maturity around 7-10 years. One calf is born after a gestational period of 419-478 days. Calves remain with their mothers for up to three years, with weaning generally around 1-2 years.

野生状态

Black rhinos are listed as Critically Endangered.

In 1960, there were an estimated 100,000 Eastern black rhinos in Africa. Due largely to large-scale poaching, their population declined by approximately 96% by the mid-1990s. There are now more than 5,000 wild Eastern black rhinos alive today, an increase from those historic lows due to intensive conservation efforts, although poaching remains a serious threat. Many populations are protected by armed anti-poaching teams.

Rhinoceros horns are highly valued by some cultures for traditional medicines and for decorative dagger handles. As a result, the black rhino has been hunted nearly to extinction. Rhinoceros populations have also come under pressure as a consequence of bush clearing for agriculture and firewood.

The Zoo manages its black rhinos under the Association of Zoo and Aquarium’s Species Survival Plan for Black Rhinos and through AZA SAFE.

What can you do to help black rhinos?

• Don’t support illegal trade by purchasing anything made from rhino horn.
• Consider donating to conservation organizations and programs like the Black Rhino Range Expansion Project 以及 96 Elephants.
• Spread the word about rhino conservation!