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The white rhino is a major conservation success story, having been brought back from the very brink of extinction. But the current surge in poaching for their horns, particularly in South Africa, has seen record numbers killed in recent years. Urgent efforts are now underway to stop the poaching and end the illegal trade.

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Physical description

White rhinos are the second largest land mammal after the elephant. Adult males can reach 1.85m in height and tip the scales at a massive 3.6 tonnes. Females are considerably smaller but can still weigh in at an impressive 1.7 tonnes.

White rhinos are also known as the square-lipped rhinoceros due to their square (not pointed) upper lip. Their name comes from the Afrikaans word "weit", which means wide and refers to the animal's muzzle.

Compared to black rhinos, white rhinos have a longer skull, a less sharply defined forehead and a more pronounced shoulder hump. They have almost no hair and two horns. The front horn averages 60 cm, but occasionally reaches 150 cm in length.

Life cycle

White rhinos have complex social structures. Groups of sometimes 14 rhinos may form, notably females with calves. Adult males defend territories of roughly 1-3km ², which they mark with vigorously scraped dung piles. The home range for adult females can be more than seven times larger, depending on habitat quality and population density.

Breeding females are prevented from leaving a dominant male's territory, which is marked and patrolled by its owner on a regular basis. Males competing for a female may engage in serious conflict, using their horns and massive size to inflict wounds.

Females reach sexual maturity at 4-5 years of age but do not reproduce until they reach 6 -7 years. Males tend not to mate until they are 10-12 years old. They can live up to 40 years.

Mating occurs throughout the year, although peaks have been observed from October to December in South Africa and from February to June in East Africa. The gestation period is approximately 16 months with a period of 2-3 years between calves.

White rhinos are the only grazer among the five rhino species, feeding almost exclusively on short grasses. They primarily inhabit grassy savanna and woodlands interspersed with grassy clearings.

The ainmals tend to avoid the heat during the day, when they rest in the shade. They are usually active in the early morning, late afternoon and evening. During very hot periods, the cool and rid themselves of external parasites by bathing in mud in shallow pools.

Key Facts

Common Names

White rhinoceros; Rhinocéros blanc (Fr); Rinoceronte (Sp)

Scientific Name
Ceratotherium simum

Main strongholds

South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Kenya

Status

Near Threatened

Population

20,000+

Subspecies

Southern white rhino (20,000+); northern white rhino (3 in captivity)

Distribution

Northern white rhinos and southern white rhinos are genetically distinct subspecies and were found in different regions in Africa.

Once common across southern Africa, southern white rhinos were thought to be extinct in the late 19th century, but in 1895 a small population of less than 100 individuals was discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

After more than a century of successful protection and management, they are now classified as Near Threatened and over 20,000 animals exist in protected areas and private game reserves.

The majority (98.8%) of white rhinos occur in just four countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya.

They are the only rhinos that are not endangered, although they have born the brunt of the surge in poaching in recent years.

The northern white rhino once occurred in southern Chad, the Central African Republic, southwestern Sudan, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), and northwestern Uganda. As recently as 1960, there were more than 2,000 remaining.

However, poaching has led to their extinction in the wild. And now there are only 3 individuals left on earth - all of them in captivity. The future for this subspecies is very bleak.

Habitat

Major habitat type
Tropical and Subtropical Grasslands, Savannas and Shrublands

Biogeographic realm
Afrotropical

Range States
Southern white rhino: Botswana (re-introduced), Kenya (introduced), Namibia (re-introduced), South Africa, Swaziland (re-introduced), Zambia (introduced), Zimbabwe (re-introduced)

Northern white rhino: Captivity (3 in a conservancy in Kenya)

Today only 5 northern white rhinos exist. Three of them live on a conservancy in Kenya, while the other two live in zoos in the Czech Republic and the USA - See more at: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/white_rhinoceros/northern_white_rhinoceros/#sthash.YoOzaAb7.dpuf

Today only 5 northern white rhinos exist. Three of them live on a conservancy in Kenya, while the other two live in zoos in the Czech Republic and the USA - See more at: http://wwf.panda.org/what_we_do/endangered_species/rhinoceros/african_rhinos/white_rhinoceros/northern_white_rhinoceros/#sthash.YoOzaAb7.dpuf

Geographical Location
Southern and East Africa

Ecological Region
Namib-Karoo-Kaokoveld Deserts, Southern Rift Montane Woodlands, Central and Eastern Miombo Woodlands

Poaching

Uncontrolled hunting in the colonial era was historically the major factor in the decline of white rhinos. Today, poaching for the illegal trade in their horns is the major threat.

Powdered horn is used in traditional Asian medicine as a supposed cure for a range of illnesses - from hangovers to fevers and even cancer.

The recent surge has been primarily driven by the demand for horn by upper-middle class citizens in Vietnam. As well as its use in medicine, rhino horn is bought and consumed purely as a symbol of wealth.

Hundreds of white rhinos have been killed annually in recent years. They are particularly vulnerable to hunting, because they are relatively unaggressive and occurs in herds.

WWF is working to protect the white rhino and increase its numbers by:

Expanding existing protected areas and improving their management;

Establishing new protected areas;

Improving security monitoring to protect rhinos from poaching;

Improving local and international law enforcement to stop the illegal flow of rhino horn from Africa to other regions of the world; and

Promoting well-managed wildlife-based tourism experiences that will also provide additional funding for conservation efforts.

Did you know?

The white rhinoceros is second only to the African elephant in the size of land mammals.

White rhinos are believed to have the most complex social structure of all rhino species.

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The white rhino is a major conservation success story, having been brought back from the very brink of extinction. But the current surge in poaching for their horns, particularly in South Africa, has seen record numbers killed in recent years. Urgent efforts are now underway to stop the poaching and end the illegal trade.

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IUCN RED LIST: Near Threatened
The white rhino is the least endangered of the living rhino species with a population of around 18,000 individuals in range countries.
The Government of South Africa and dedicated conservationists teamed up to bring the southern white rhino back from fewer than 50 individuals in the early 1900s to roughly 18,000 today - though that population has declined over the past 2 years because of poaching.

Unfortunately, white rhinos are seeing higher poaching levels than black rhinos, particularly in South Africa's Kruger National Park, largely because they generally live in more open habitats where they are easier to target. Sadly, from 2012 to 2017, the poaching scourge led to a 15% decrease in white rhino numbers.

The white rhino, along with the roughly equal-sized Greater one-horned rhino, is the largest species of land mammal after the elephant. It has two distinct subspecies, but only populations of the Southern white rhino remain viable. The Northern white rhino is extinct in the wild due to poaching and only two females remain in captivity.

Biology

The white rhino lives in Africa, in long and short-grass savannahs.

White rhinos are grazers. Its wide, square upper lip is adapted for feeding on grasses.

White rhinos can live to be 50 years of age. Gestation lasts approximately 16 months, and mothers give birth to one calf every 2-3 years.

White rhinos are semi-social and territorial. Females and subadults generally are social, but bulls are typically solitary.

Current White Rhino Numbers and Distribution

There are currently approximately 18,000 white rhinos.
CITES: Appendix I
Common Names

White rhinoceros is taken from the Afrikaans word describing its mouth: "wyd", meaning "wide". Early English settlers misinterpreted the "wyd" for "white".

It is also sometimes called the square-lipped rhinoceros.

Scientific Name and Origin
Ceratotherium simum
Ceratotherium from the Greek "cerato", meaning "horn" and "thorium", meaning "wild beast" and "simum" from the Greek simus, meaning "flat nosed."

Physical Characteristics
SIZE

Weight: 4,000-6,000 lbs (1,800 - 2,700 kg)

Height: 5 - 6 feet (1.5 - 1.8 m) tall at shoulder

Length: 12.5-15 feet (3.8 - 5m) length of head and body

HORN
White rhinos have two horns. The larger front horn measures 37 - 79 inches (94 - 201 cm). The rear horn measures up to 22 inches (55 cm) long.

Other Features

Relatively broad snout with a square lip.

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White Rhino - International Rhino Foundation

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In the face of the poaching crisis, white rhino populations still are thought to have remained relatively stable. White rhinos occur in eight countries - South Africa, Namibia, Kenya, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Swaziland, Uganda and Kenya. South Africa holds more than 90% of world population.