Although black rhinos use vision, acoustic, and smell senses, their sense of smell is what they rely on most. They have poor vision, with the ability to see only 25 to 30 m away. Their sense of hearing is good, but not up to the level of their sense of smell. Black rhinos use the pheromones and scents from their feces and urine to mark territories. Additionally, they engage in calls to one another that can take the form of the pant-squeal interaction seen in mothers and their infants to loud roars that signify aggression. When a subordinate male enters the territory of a more dominant male, the combination of calls and territorial scents causes the subordinate male to retreat.
Communication Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Other Communication Modes: pheromones ; scent marks
Perception Channels: visual ; tactile ; acoustic ; chemical
Black rhinos have been on Appendix I of CITES since 1977. Additionally, black rhinos have been listed since 1980 under the United States Endangered Species Act. Black rhinos are listed as critically endangered by the IUCN Red List. Currently, there are four subspecies of black rhinos: D. bicornis bicornis, D. bicornis longipes, D. bicornis minor, and D. bicornis michaeli. The first subspecies is listed as vulnerable on the IUCN 2008 Red List, and the latter three are all listed as critically endangered. Conservation efforts to preserve black rhinos include establishing a ban against the horn trade, creating fenced sanctuaries for black rhinos to better protect them from poachers, and dehorning black rhinos to decrease incentive for poaching. With these efforts, the total population of 2,400 black rhinos towards the end of the twentieth century increased to 3,100 black rhinos by 2001.
US Federal List: endangered
CITES: appendix i
State of Michigan List: no special status
IUCN Red List of Threatened Species: critically endangered
Although many charges by black rhinos towards humans and their vehicles turn into innocent advances, some may cause injury or death to humans, or damage to vehicles that results in monetary loss.
Negative Impacts: injures humans
Black rhinos have the potential to help create awareness for conservation efforts. Additionally,they provide educational value both through biology and through art. Black rhino horns are also very valuable for their use in various products, such as traditional Chinese medicine and traditional Yemen dagger handles. The popularity of their horns is a major reason why the species as a whole is in trouble.
Positive Impacts: body parts are source of valuable material; source of medicine or drug ; research and education
Black rhinos and oxpeckers (Buphagus species) are involved in a mutualistic relationship where the oxpeckers eat parasites taken from the rhino’s skin. Additionally, oxpeckers are able to warn rhinos of approaching predators because their vision is much better than the rhino’s vision. Black rhinos are significant herbivores and influence plant communities.
Ecosystem Impact: disperses seeds
Mutualist Species:
Commensal/Parasitic Species:
Black rhinos are browsers that feed on items such as twigs, woody shrubs, small trees, legumes, and grass. Black rhinos show a preference for Acacia species, as well as plants in the family Euphorbiaceae. They eat an average of 23.6 kg during the course of each day. Black rhinos use their characteristic prehensile upper lip to grab plants and guide them into their mouths, where their cheek teeth can do the rest of the work. In addition, black rhinos use their horns to gain access to higher branches by breaking or knocking down plants. Scraping bark off of trees is also part of the repertoire of black rhino feeding.
Plant Foods: leaves; wood, bark, or stems; seeds, grains, and nuts
Primary Diet: herbivore (Folivore , Lignivore)
Historically, Diceros bicornis has been distributed throughout Africa, south of the Sahara, with the exception of the Congo Basin. The current range of black rhinoceroses is bounded by Cameroon, Kenya, and South Africa but their distribution within those limits is fragmented.
Biogeographic Regions: ethiopian (Native )
Black rhinoceroses live in various habitats that range from deserts to grasslands, both tropical and subtropical. They are also present in African forests, especially in areas where grasslands and forests phase into one another. Black rhinos generally stay within 25 kilometers of water.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Terrestrial Biomes: desert or dune ; savanna or grassland ; scrub forest
Typical lifespan in the wild is between 30 and 35 years, with little expectation of exceeding 35 years. In captivity, black rhinos can live over 45 years, with the record being 49 years. Factors that limit lifespan in the wild include poaching for horns and habitat fragmentation.
Average lifespan
Status: wild: 35 years.
Average lifespan
Status: captivity: 49 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: wild: 30 to 35 years.
Typical lifespan
Status: captivity: 30 to 45 years.
Although the color of black rhinoceroses can vary from yellow-brown to dark-brown, the general color is grey. Specific skin color depends on the soil conditions within the habitat of each individual. The skin is naked or hairless, with the exception of short, fringe-like hair on the short and rounded ears. On average, black rhinos have a shoulder height between 1.4 and 1.8 m, a head and body length between 3 and 3.75 m, and a weight between 800 and 1400 kg. Tail length is generally around 0.7 m. Although similar in size, males are normally a little larger than females.
Black rhinos have two horns, one posterior and one anterior, which are made from keratin instead of bone. The anterior horn is normally longer, measuring 42 to 128 cm, while the posterior horn is 20 to 50 cm. In some cases, black rhinos have a third, posterior horn, which is small. Females tend to have longer and thinner horns than males.
The trait that distinguishes black rhinos from white rhinos is the pointed, prehensile upper lip found in black rhinos, as opposed to the square lips found in white rhinos. This lip is used to pick up food such as twigs. Additionally, black rhinos have smaller heads, shorter ears, and shorter horns than white rhinos.
Range mass: 800 to 1400 kg.
Range length: 3.0 to 3.75 m.
Other Physical Features: endothermic ; homoiothermic; bilateral symmetry
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike; male larger; sexes shaped differently; ornamentation
Humans, Homo sapiens, are the most important predator of black rhinos; however, both lions (Panthera leo) and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta) sometimes prey on young rhinos. Lions also sometimes attack adults. Black rhinos use their size and strength as a defense mechanism by charging at their predators both to threaten predators and actively defend themselves and their offspring.
Known Predators:
Adult black rhinos are typically solitary creatures. However, during mating, black rhino adults come together. Black rhinos are polygynous. Male rhinos begin a courtship by following females, including their dependent offspring, for approximately one or two weeks before mating actually begins; even while sleeping, the male and female remain in contact with one another. Males exhibit certain behavioral characteristics before mating: they walk in a stiff-legged manner and brush their horns along the ground in front of the female. Before copulation begins, many attempts by the male to mount the female are made; if the female is not yet ready, she will make a series of attacks or charges at the male. When insertion is actually achieved, copulation lasts between 20 and 40 minutes. If the mating is unsuccessful, females return to a state of heat within 35 days of the previous copulation.
Mating System: polygynous
Breeding occurs throughout the year but peak breeding season varies by location. Gestation lasts approximately 15 months. Females give birth to one offspring at a time, which usually weighs between 20 and 25 kg. Weaning of offspring typically occurs after 18 months, but offspring remain dependent for up to 4 years. Females achieve sexual maturity at age 5 to 7 years; males reach maturity between 7 and 8 years.
Breeding interval: Black rhinos breed every 2 to 2.5 years under the most favorable conditions, but interbreeding periods can last up to 4 years.
Breeding season: Black rhinos mate throughout the year, with peak breeding seasons depending on the location of the population.
Average number of offspring: 1.
Average gestation period: 15 months.
Average weaning age: 18 months.
Range time to independence: 2 to 4 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (female): 5 to 7 years.
Range age at sexual or reproductive maturity (male): 7 to 8 years.
Key Reproductive Features: iteroparous ; seasonal breeding ; year-round breeding ; gonochoric/gonochoristic/dioecious (sexes separate); sexual ; viviparous
Average birth mass: 36500 g.
Average gestation period: 474 days.
Average number of offspring: 1.
For the first week after birth the offspring is hidden by the mother. After that, the mother and calf use specific vocalizations to find one another: the mother pants and the calf squeals. Black rhino mothers are very protective of their calves, which is why calves walk behind their mothers. This differs from white rhino females, who have their young walk in front of them. Calves are able to browse on their own after one month and able to drink water after 4 to 5 months. Black rhino offspring aren’t weaned until 18 months; after that, the calf remains dependent on its mother for up to 4 years. The basic social unit for females is typically a female and her young offspring, until the offspring is forced into independence by a sibling.
Parental Investment: precocial ; pre-fertilization (Provisioning, Protecting: Female); pre-hatching/birth (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-weaning/fledging (Provisioning: Female, Protecting: Female); pre-independence (Protecting: Female)
