Tag: rhinoceros

Rhino in the evening light

Yesterday I saw the prize-winning documentary Stroop about rhino poaching and the trade in rhino horn in Asia. It’s so sad to know that our greed as human beings destroys the world around us. Why can’t we find a way to share, to go not for profit but for sustainability and livelihoods for workers? Look at this innocent creature, so mighty and strong, but so vulnerable to our vices. Will they still be with us in 50 years time?

White rhino kicking up dust

A rhino kicking up some dust with its feet. Rhinos shuffle their feet, thereby creating a small dust cloud, when they feel threatened or annoyed, for example by a car that gets too close. In this case the behavior didn’t seem directed at our car as the rhino was otherwise very relaxed and went on to pass an impressive amount of urine…

Black rhino

A black rhino with its head held characteristically high. Black rhinos always look like they are asking “What do you want?” in a not too friendly way. I guess it’s just that they hold their head up high instead of looking demurely to the ground like their cousins the white rhinos. Anyway, it’s always a blessing to see one of these endangered animals!

Baby rhino

An adorable baby rhino resting in the shade. Rhinos spend their days and nights grazing, only resting during the hottest hours of the day. After birth, a baby rhino can walk within an hour. A rhino is born without a horn, but the front horn becomes visible within one or two months. The back horn starts growing when the calf is about a year old. The calf will stay with its mother for about three years before setting off on its own.

Black Rhinoceros

My first black rhino! The black rhino is actually not black in color, but brown or grey like its cousin the white rhino. One of the main differences between the black and the white rhino is the shape of its lips. The mouth of the black rhino has a slight V-shape, unlike the white rhino which has a straight mouth. This is why the species are also known as hook-lipped rhinoceros for the black, and square-lipped rhinoceros for the white.

On our way

Romance in the bush: a male and a female rhino walking down the road. We must have followed them in our car for over half an hour while they walked, stopped, grazed a bit, walked on. Beautiful animals.

Photo taken in Pilanesberg National Park, South Africa