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WHITE RHINOCEROUS - Ceratotherium simum |
LENGTH OF HEAD AND BODY (MALES LARGER): 3.6 - 4.2
metres
HEIGHT AT SHOULDER: 1.5 - 1.85 metres
MASS: 2 300 - 3 600 kilograms
LENGTH OF FRONT HORN (NORTHERN RACE): 95 - 200 centimetres
(SOUTHERN RACE): 95 - 101 centimetres
Despite their names, both the black and white rhinoceroses
are grey. White rhinos are square-lipped, and are
grazers; black rhinos have a hooked, prehensile upper
lip and are browsers.
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The White Rhinoceros is not white in colour; its name is
derived from the Afrikaans / Dutch word "weit",
meaning wide, and its manner of feeding has adapted to grazing
short grass with a mouth similar to that of the business
end of a lawnmower. This animal, with its territorial behaviour
and rather slow rate of breeding, make it a poor colonist,
and it is very slow to expand its range. White rhinos have
a barrel-shaped body and short, thick-set limbs. The head
is elongated, and the horns are continuously growing: one
horn in front, and a shorter one behind. The skin is thick,
grey, and prominantly folded on the front of the shoulders
and on the upper part of the hind limbs.
White rhinos require areas of short grass, water for drinking
and in which to wallow, adequate bush cover, and relatively
flat terrain. These conditions are usually met in wooded
grasslands. They do not have incisor teeth and instead use
their hard lips to crop grass. They drink regularly and
are dependant on its availability.
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DISTRIBUTION
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White rhino occur in small groups
consisting of a single dominant or territorial bull, subordinate
bulls, cows and their offspring. Territorial bulls occupy clearly
defined territories which they defend against other bulls: these
territories often have natural features which form their boundaries,
and sometimes have narrow common zones. Territories are marked
by urine spraying and defecating along the boundaries, and although
territorial males rarely fight and tend to avoid one another,
they do indulge in trials of strength, which may include horn
clashing, to settle disputes and confirm social position. After
a dispute, the defeated male may stay and feed in the defended
area as long as he displays submissiveness, ceases to spray
urine or scatter dung, and stays out of the proprietor's way.
The quality of food and the density of animals will establish
the size of a feeding territory, especially in restricted areas
such as a park or reserve. During full population density, a
male's feeding territory is approximately 2 sq. km (¾
sq. mile). Males remain subsidiary in society from when they
mature sexually, at the age of around seven, for about another
three years until they are able to displace an existing bull
and inherit his territory and females. |
WILDLIFE
PARKS
AND
RESERVES
WHERE
THIS SPECIES
IS FOUND: |
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