The southern white rhino is listed as Near Threatened it is mostly threatened by habitat loss and poaching for rhino horn for use in traditional Chinese medicine. Population and threats Taxidermied specimen, Royal Ontario Museum About 98.5% of southern white rhino live in just five countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Uganda. The southern white rhino lives in the grasslands, savannahs, and shrublands of southern Africa, ranging from South Africa to Zambia. Habitat and distribution A southern white rhino pair at Mosi-oa-Tunya National Park, Zambia. Young usually become independent in 2–3 years. Newborn calves weigh about 45 kg (100 pounds) at birth. Males are never directly involved in the raising of calves in rare instances, certain rogue individuals may even kill calves that they perceive as future competition, both for resources and bloodline dominance. They give birth to a single calf, after a gestation period that lasts around 16 months. Little is known about southern white rhinoceros mating habits, but females reproduce every 2–3 years. Southern white rhinos are strictly herbivores (graminivores) that feed on short grasses. The southern white rhino has a distinctive flat, broad mouth that is used for grazing. Most of its body hair is found on the ear fringes and tail bristles, with the rest distributed sparsely over the rest of the body. The colour of this animal can range from yellowish brown to slate grey.
The southern white rhinoceros also has a prominent muscular hump that supports its large head. Females usually have longer but thinner horns than the males, who have larger but shorter ones. The front horn is larger than the other horn and averages 60 cm (24 in) in length and can reach 150 cm (59 in). It has an immense body and large head, a short neck and broad chest. The southern white rhinoceros is one of largest and heaviest land animals in the world. Physical descriptions A southern white rhino mother with calf in Namibia. Distinct morphological and genetic differences suggest the two proposed species have been separated for at least a million years. However, it is now considered part of the southern white rhinoceros.įollowing the phylogenetic species concept, research in 2010 suggested the southern and northern white rhinoceros may be different species, rather than subspecies, in which case the correct scientific name for the northern subspecies is Ceratotherium cottoni and the southern subspecies should be known as simply Ceratotherium simum. However, these are considered synonyms of its original scientific name.Ĭeratotherium simum kiaboaba (or Rhinoceros kiaboaba), also known as straight-horned rhinoceros, was proposed as a different subspecies (or species) found near Lake Ngami and north of the Kalahari desert. The subspecies is also known as Burchell's rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum burchellii) after Burchell and Oswell's rhinoceros ( Ceratotherium simum oswellii) after William Cotton Oswell, respectively. The southern white rhinoceros is the nominate subspecies it was given the scientific name Ceratotherium simum simum by the English explorer William John Burchell in the 1810s. It is the most common and widespread subspecies of rhinoceros. The southern white rhinoceros, or southern white rhino ( Ceratotherium simum simum) is one of the two subspecies of the white rhinoceros (the other being the much rarer northern white rhinoceros). Ceratotherium simum kiaboaba (Murray, 1866).Ceratotherium simum oswellii (Elliot, 1847).Ceratotherium simum burchellii (Desmarest, 1822).Presence uncertain & assisted colonisation
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