Unfortunately, there has been a resurgence of poaching in recent years and this activity is again posing a significant threat to wild black rhino populations. Conservationists' intensive anti-poaching efforts had encouraging results in the 1990s and 2000s and the number of black rhinos in the wild began increasing very slowly. In 1993, this foundation expanded its mission and became the International Rhino Foundation, which is dedicated to rhino conservation and research.
In response, a group of concerned individuals and institutions founded the Black Rhino Foundation in 1989. With the growing purchasing power of many Asian countries and the existence of organized gangs of poachers, the threat to rhinos remains great. Rhino horn is made of keratin, which is the same protein that makes up hair and fingernails. The horn is also falsely believed to be medicine in many Asian cultures. A major market for these horns, Arab nations use them to make ornately carved handles for ceremonial daggers. The black rhinoceros has been pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal poaching for their horns, and to a lesser extent by loss of habitat. The current population is estimated to be 5,055. By 1993, only 2,300 individuals survived in the wild. Between 19, its population dropped by 96%. The black rhino and white rhino are found in Africa, while the greater one-horned rhino, Sumatran rhino, and Javan rhino call Asia home.ĭuring the last century, the black rhino has suffered the most drastic decline in total numbers of all rhino species. There are five surviving rhino species, three of which are critically endangered. Millions of years ago, rhinos could be found in North America and Europe as well as in Africa and Asia. Gestation lasts approximately 14-16 months, with a single calf being the norm every 2-1/2 to 3 years. Females reach sexual maturity between ages 4 and 7 males mature between ages 7 and 10. Black rhino home ranges vary greatly depending on the habitat and to some extent on sex and age.īlack rhinos may live up to 35 years in the wild. Adult females have overlapping ranges while males are generally solitary and may be territorial. Living primarily in grasslands, savannahs and tropical bush lands, black rhinos are browsers with prehensile upper lips adapted for grasping and holding leaves and branches of shrubs and trees.īlack rhinos are semi-social and territorial.
Where does black rhinoceros live skin#
The species probably derives its name as a distinction from the white rhino (itself a misnomer) and/or from the dark-colored local soil that often covers its skin after wallowing in mud. What's in a Name?īlack rhinoceros are actually not black at all. Keratin is the same material that makes up human hair and fingernails. Rhino horns are made of keratin, or densely compressed hair. The front (anterior) horn is larger and measures up to 55 inches, while the rear (posterior) horn is smaller and measures up to 22 inches. Its habit of charging at moving objects makes it a mammal to be avoided, especially since its eyesight isn't great. The black rhino is an imposing animal, weighing in at more than one ton. Grasslands, savannahs and tropical bushlands Eastern and Southern Africa from Kenya to the Cape