![]() ![]() Black rhino dung is orange-brown, retaining an orangey-yellow colour when dry.When tracking rhino on safari, you can also take a look at any dung you come across. Tip: This is not a fool-proof method as behaviour is not as predictable as physical characteristics. It’s likely that this is so that they can keep their grazing eyes on their calves and any predators in their midst more easily. White rhino calves are often seen walking in front of their mother.Black rhino calves tend to walk behind their mother.White rhino graze along the ground and their heads hang lower to the ground than a black rhino’s at all times.Black rhino browse for their food, reaching to branches and shrubs above the ground.White rhinos are more sociable and can be found in large groups of seven individuals or more.Black rhinos usually live alone with gatherings of up to five individuals, a rare and usually brief occurrence.In addition, there are also some behavioural observations which help to identify which species you’re looking at. White rhino: people say that their name came from the Afrikaans word ‘weit’ meaning wide, in reference to the shape of their muzzles.Another is in relation to their muzzle-shape, with black coming from the word ‘beak’. Black rhino: one theory is they got their name simply by way of distinguishing them from the white rhino.Why are they referred to as ‘black’ and ‘white’? White rhino are the second-largest land mammal after the elephant. White rhinos: substantially larger than black rhino, measuring up to 1.8m at the shoulder.Black rhinos measure up to 1.6m at the shoulder. Black rhino: slighter, smaller and more compactly built in general than the white rhino.Tip: the shape of a black rhino horn also differs between sexes: with males tending to have thicker horns, and the females often longer and thinner ones. White rhino: their front horn is longer with a much shorter second horn behind it.Black rhino: each of their two horns are closer in length than those of a white rhino.With poor eyesight and a nose that’s usually close to the ground, the ability to hear from their larger ears holds important evolutionary value as an adaptation for them. White rhino: narrower, more closed and more pointed at the tips than the black rhino.Black rhino: smaller and rounder ears than the white rhino.White rhino: a more pronounced shoulder hump, with a sacral bump starting about two thirds of the way towards their rear (less close to their rear).Black rhino: a hollow, saddle-back with a sacral bump very close to their rear.Tip: Black rhino also tend to carry their heads high while white rhino hold their heads a little lower – closer to the ground for grazing! Black rhino White rhinos have much longer skulls from mouth to ears. White rhino: longer with a less defined forehead than the black rhino.Black rhino: shorter from top to bottom with a more protruding – albeit smaller – ‘forehead’ than that of a white rhino.White rhino are also known as the square-lipped rhino. White rhino: a square-shaped upper lip – perfectly adequate for grazing.Black rhino are also known as the hook-lipped rhino. Black rhino: a pointed upper lip, helping them to pull leaves from trees and bushes as they browse for their food.The easiest way to tell which of the two species you’re looking at is by getting a good view of their upper lip: Depending on your viewpoint and the individuals you’re observing, some will be clearer than others as distinctions. Kenya Masai Mara How to tell a black rhino from a white rhinoĭespite the names, each of these two species are both grey in colour but there are five features you can look closely at to tell them apart. ![]()
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