BLACK RHINO
Protect it before it's too late
The Black Rhino/ The Hook-Lipped Rhino
The black rhino has two horns which grow from the skin continuously. The horn is made out of keratin. Males are known to have thicker and stubbier horns while females have thinner and longer ones. A black rhino is about 5 ft in shoulder height. A male black rhino weighs around 1350 kg while a female weighs 900 kg. The coloring of a black is a grayish color. The black rhino is smaller than the white rhino and has a smaller hump on its neck because it browses for food. Hairs are found in a rhino's ear and on tail tips and eyelashes. The most important characteristic of a black rhino is the hooked lip. The hooked lip allows it to grasp the woody plants and sticks it eats.
Black rhinos are semi-social. They roam the grasslands usually by themselves but also congregate near waterholes. It has a mutual relationship with the red and yellow-billed ox peckers, which eat parasites off the rhino and warn the rhino of danger. In return, the bird gets a free ride and food. The black rhino is a primary consumer because it eats grasses and plants. Only a few animals dare to attack the rhino and only a calf at that. These animals include the Nile crocodile, a lion or hyenas.
A Black Rhino
A Black Rhino and a Calf
Black Rhino Hurt
Extinction
Endanger?
But why should we save the black rhinos? If the black rhinos became extinct then the woody shrubs would not have many consumers, allowing them to grow rapidly. If it did then the place would be overrun by it. Taking out the black rhinos would make the food chain and ecosystem unbalanced.
Bibliography
- "Black Rhino Information". Black Rhino Factfile. Save the Rhino, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013.
- "Black Rhinoceros". WWF. WWF, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013.
- "Black Rhinoceros at Animal Corner". Black Rhinoceros at Animal Corner. Animal Corner, n.d. Web. 09 Oct. 2013.