Southern White Rhinoceros

(Ceratotherium simum)

Live: Southern Africa

Habitat: Dry savannah and grasslands

Diet: Grasses

Gestation: 16 months, usually 1 offspring born

Longevity: 40-45 years

Status: Not Endangered

General: The white rhinoceros' name derives from a corruption of the Afrikaans word "weit" which means wide, describing its wide square lips, used to efficiently crop grass.

The other African rhino species is the black, or hook lipped rhino, which differs markedly from the white rhino in diet – they eat, browse and herbage while the white rhino is strictly a grass eater. Although usually lighter in colour than the black rhino, the white rhino tends to pick up the colour of whatever substrate they are living on and wallowing in.

Like all species of rhino, the white rhino has poor vision so relies on detecting movement, smell and their hearing. They can swivel their ears to pick up sound and accurately work out the direction of origin. Rhinos rely on water since they must drink daily and also wallow in mud regularly. The mud not only cools them, but also helps to protect their skin against mites and biting flies. The white rhino has two horns; the front one is the larger of the two. They have a shoulder height of up to 1.8m and a weight of up to 2,300kg.

There are 3 Asian species of rhinos - Sumatran, Indian and Javan - all endangered, as is the African black rhino, plus the northern subspecies of white rhino. Southern white rhino were nearly extinct in the early 1900s but are now a real conservation success story. From less than 100 animals they now number over 11,000 in the wild, through protection of habitat and animals. They are no longer on the endangered species list.