Southern white rhinoceros - a photo on Flickriver

            This is one of the five white rhino's that live at Africa Alive in Suffolk.

There are five spices of rhinoceros with the white rhinoceros being the largest. There are two subspecies of white rhino, the southern white rhinoceros and the northern white rhinoceros which is considered critically endangered and possibly extinct in the wild.
The white rhino's head and body length is 145 to 157 in. (3.7 to 4 m) in males and 134 to 143 in. (3.4 to 3.65 m) in females, with the tail adding another 28 in. (70 cm). Shoulder height is 67 to 73 in. (1.7 to 1.86 m) in the male and 63 to 70 in. (1.6 to 1.77 m)  in the female. Males averaging about 5,070 lb. (2,300 kg) while females average of about 3,750 lb. (1,700 kg). Despite its weight the white rhinoceros is quick and agile and can run 35 mph (56 km/h).
On its snout it has two horns, one behind the other, these are made of solid keratin. The front horn is larger and averages 24 in. (60 cm) in length,  but can reach as much as 59 in. (150 cm). Females usually have longer but thinner horns than the males which are larger but shorter.
Each of the four stumpy feet has three toes. The colour of the body ranges from yellowish brown to slate grey and its only hair is the ear fringes and tail bristles. White rhinos have a distinctive broad, straight mouth which is used for grazing. Its ears can move independently to pick up sounds, but it depends most of all on its sense of smell. The olfactory passages that are responsible for smell are larger than their entire brain. The white rhinoceros has the widest set of nostrils of any land based animal.
The southern white rhino lives in the south and east of Africa. About 98.5% of white rhinos live in just five countries, South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda where they inhabit dry, bushy savanna and lightly wooded areas. They are grazers and feed mainly on short grasses, using their broad, flexible lips for cropping the stems, it spends about half of the day eating. It drinks twice a day if water is available, but if conditions are dry it can live four or five days without water.
Female white rhino's are pregnant for sixteen months and give birth to only one offspring. The calves are weaned at two years old and will stay with their mother until the reach three years old. When threatened, the calf will run in front of the mother, which is very protective of her calf and will fight for it vigorously.
This animal has a lifespan of between 30 and 50 years. Adults have no natural predators, other than humans, due to their size, and even young rhinos are rarely attacked or preyed on due to the mother's presence and their tough skin. One exceptional successful attack was perpetrated by a lion pride on a roughly half grown white rhinoceros, which weighed 2,326 lb. (1,055 kg), and occurred in Mala Mala Game Reserve, South Africa.
The white rhino was previously hunted almost to extinction, however in the last century numbers have grown. In 2001 it was estimated that there were 11,670 white rhinos in the wild with a further 777 in captivity worldwide, making it the most common rhino in the world. By the end of 2007 wild living southern white rhinos had increased to an estimated 17,480 animals. Poaching is still a threat to all rhino's for their horn is in demand in the Asian medicine market and for jewellery and ceremonial dagger handles in Yemen.     
Currently, this species is classified as 'Near Threatened' on the IUCN Red List but its numbers today are increasing.
   

Taken in: UK / England / Waveney District / Kessingland (show map)

Taken on: May 21, 2022

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southern white rhinoceros

southern white rhino

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Africa Alive

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Kessingland

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Camera: Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II, ISO 125 (more info) (hide info)

Camera:	Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II
ISO:	125
Flash:	Off, Did not fire
Exposure Program:	Program AE
Metering Mode:	Multi-segment
White Balance:	Auto
Color Space:	Uncalibrated
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