There are two kinds of rhinoceros in Africa – black rhino and white rhino. However, there are approximately 48,00 black rhino and 20,000 white rhino surviving in the wild.
Kenya is home to around 1,000 rhinos. Some are critically endangered black rhinos – the rarer of Africa’s two rhino species, with just 5,000 left the wild, compared to around 20,000 white rhinos.
Black rhino (which are actually grey) are browsers, using their pointed upper lips like a miniature elephant trunk to twist off low-growing branches of trees and shrubs. They grow up to 1.6 metres tall, weighs up to 1,400 kilograms and have two horns. However, they are the fastest kind of rhino with a top speed of 55 kilometres per hour. They also eat woody trees, shrubs, and herbs.
The White rhino has a wide mouth. The name of the white rhino is something said to be a corruption of the Dutch word “wijd” – but no one really knows where the names come from. The white rhino grows up to 1.8 metres and weighs over two tons. It is second to the African elephant in the size of land mammals. They mainly eat grass and are the most abundant rhino species as well as have two horns. A Kenya safaris should be right on top of your bucket list.
Author: Megan Warrington
Published: 9 May 2017