All information about the rhino

What is a rhino?

The rhinoceros is a family of large mammals. The rhino has lived on our planet for 60 million years. There were an awful lot of species of rhinos. Today there are only 5 rhino species that exist in Africa and Asia. The white and black rhinoceros occur in Africa. The Indian, Javanese and Sumatran rhino in Asia.

In the Safari Park you will find both the white and black rhino. Come see them up close and personal!

What does a rhino look like?

The biggest feature of the rhino is of course its horn. The horn is made of the same material as our hair and nails. There is no bone in the horns. A rhino's vision is very poor. They cannot tell the difference between a human and a tree stump at ten meters. In contrast, they can hear and smell very well. A rhino can smell the scent of a human from miles away. The belly of a rhino is very convex, this is because there are all intestines inside. The intestinal system of a rhino can be up to 35 meters long.

Difference between white and black rhinos

The black rhino, unlike the white rhino, has a pointed upper lip with which it can graze branches and leaves. The white rhino's broad lips it uses for grazing. The white rhino is largest and is easily irritated, but not nearly as much as the black rhino. The black rhino has a short fuse and will quickly find a reason to attack until the danger has passed. In addition, the white rhino is found mainly in southern Africa and the black rhino in East and Central Africa.

Ranger Robert shows the difference between the white and black rhino in a Ranger Request. Are you watching?

Both in

Rhino habitat

The two African rhinos are found on savannas in Africa. The Asian rhinos, on the other hand, are found in the forests and swampy grasslands of Asia.

What does a rhino eat?

Rhinos are herbivores. The rhino eats up to 70 pounds of grass, leaves and fruits in a day. It also drinks up to 100 liters of water a day. Exactly what a rhino eats varies by rhino species. African rhinos eat mostly solid grass or branches. Asian rhinos eat mostly sturdy large branches. As an exception, the Sumantran rhino has a varied diet, with all kinds of fruits.

Lifestyle of rhinos

Rhinos do not live in groups but live alone. When rhinos roam together, it is often a female with her young. The exception to this is the white rhino. This rhino is very social, so the white rhino occurs in groups. The male lives alone in a large area and recognizes the boundaries of his territory by his poop and pee. Only during the mating season do the males and females seek each other out.

Reproduction

When a male has spotted a rutting female nearby, he tries to impress her. He does this by walking back and forth. Because rhinos do not live in groups, there is a chance that as soon as a rutting female is nearby, several males will try to win her over. They then try to chase each other away by sniffing loudly, keeping their heads down and flattening their ears. However, it does not often turn into a fight. Ultimately, the female determines whether to mate.

After a gestation period of about 16 months, the young is born. The cub is born without a horn and often already weighs tens of pounds. A female gives birth to about 1 calf every two to five years. For the first year, the cub stays close to the mother.

Baby rhino

A baby rhinoceros is also called a calf. A baby rhino can stand after only 10 minutes, but not yet very stable. The young therefore always walk behind their mother who protects them from attacks by other animals. After about 4 months, a youngster drinks water. The cub stays with its mother until it is fully grown and a new calf is born. The calf is also suckled for an entire year. The calf is sexually mature after 4 years. However, males must wait 10 years before mating. This is because they are only strong enough to do this properly after that time.

In October 2020, rhino Ravy was born in the Safari Park. Want to see what the young Ravy looked like? Ranger Brent takes you through this Ranger Request!

Enemies of the rhino

The rhino's biggest enemy is humans. All five species are threatened with extinction because of hunting for their horn. Did you know that horn is worth more per kilogram than gold? Criminal organizations sell it as a traditional medicine for fever, colds and, in recent years, even cancer. Horn has never been proven to have healing powers, it consists mainly of keratin; the same as our nails and hair, in other words! In addition, rich businessmen also use the horn as a status symbol. To obtain a horn, the rhino does not have to die. Thus, the horn would simply grow back and the animal could continue to live. However, poachers do not care about that and still kill the rhino.

The role of zoos is to preserve and protect of endangered species. European parks work closely together to achieve this goal and do so with an management program (EEP). The black and white rhinoceros are also part of this. In this way, a healthy reserve population is maintained. Find out more about species conservation and our role here here.

Conservation

Not only rhinos, but many of the species you see in our park are endangered and struggling in their native habitats. Did you know that worldwide more than 4,000 animal species threatened with extinction are endangered? Together we can help them, with big, or small steps. Want to know how? Then click here.

Wildlife Foundation

The Wildlife Foundation does support three projects that ensure that different species of rhinos are protected. These are Save the Rhino, International Rhino Foundation and Black Mamba APU. The rhinos are protected through anti-poaching patrols where the rhino's habitat is always secured, education in schools so that children grow up respecting nature, and campaigning where buying horn is discouraged. Want to know more about the Wildlife Foundation? Then clickhere.

Rhino species

• White rhinoceros or broad-lipped rhinoceros

• Black rhino or pointed rhinoceros

• Indian rhinoceros or armored rhino

• Javan rhinoceros

• Sumatran rhinoceros

White rhino (Ceratotherium simum)

The white rhino is the second heaviest land animal in the world. Only the elephant weighs more. It is the largest species of all rhinos. This species of rhino is found in 4 countries: South Africa, Namibia, Zimbabwe and Kenya. The white rhino is distinguished from the other African rhino species by its wide mouth. Therefore, the white rhino is also called broad-lipped rhino. Many people assume that the white rhino is white because of its name. However, this is not the case. It is gray in color. The white rhino, or broad-lipped rhino, owes its name to a translation error by the English. Because of its wide lips, African farmers called it "wide-lipped. The English misunderstood this and thought it was "whitelip. Since then, we have continued to call this rhino the "white rhino," even though it is plain gray.

The white rhino has two subspecies:

• Northern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum cottoni)

• Southern white rhino (Ceratotherium simum simum)

In 2018, the last male of the northern white rhinos died, leaving only two females of this species in the world today. The southern white rhino, on the other hand, is labeled "vulnerable" when it comes to threats. There are still more than 20,000 rhinos of that species.

Black rhino (Diceros bicornis)

The black rhinoceros is also known as point-lipped rhinoceros. It is one of two African rhinos and is found on the savannas of East and Central Africa. The black rhino is threatened with extinction because poachers hunt it for its horn. It is estimated that about 5,500 black rhinos are still alive. The black rhino has thick, gray skin. He has a pointed upper lip with which he can easily grab branches and leaves. This is also where it gets its name from. The black rhino is slightly smaller and weighs less than the white rhino. There are four subspecies of the black rhino, three of which are still living, namely:

• Southwestern black rhino (Diceros bicornis bicornis)

• Western black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis longipes) †

• Eastern black rhino (Diceros bicornis michaeli)

• South-central black rhino (Diceros bicornis minor)

In Beekse Bergen you can spend the night near white rhinos!

Indian rhino (Rhinoceros unicornis)

The Indian rhino, also called armored rhino, belongs to the Asian rhinos. It lives, as its name suggests, in India. It has only one horn and a thick folded skin. The Indian rhino is distinguished from the other two Asian rhinos by its size, large head and only two folds of skin on its belly. The horn grows up to 60 cm long and consists of keratin fibers joined together instead of horn bone, like the other rhinos. The color of the skin is gray-brown. It is about 2 meters tall and weighs between 1,800 and 2,200 pounds. It can live to be about 30 years old. The Indian rhino is a true herbivore and lives mainly on leaves and grasses.

Javan rhino (Rhinoceros sondaicus)

The name says it all, this rhino occurs in Java. There are still between 46 and 66 Javan rhinos alive and is therefore one of the rarest animals in the world. This species of rhino does not occur in captivity. The Javan rhino has a shoulder height between 140 and 170 cm and weighs about 1,400 pounds. Its skin is divided into three parts. They live in the low-lying parts of the jungle where there are many mud pools and water.

Sumatran rhino (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis)

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest species of rhino. What is very remarkable about this rhino is its hairiness. In fact, it is heavily hairy compared to other rhinos. It has a shoulder height of 100 to 140 cm and two small horns. The Sumatran rhino survives in the jungle, especially where there are many mud pools and hilly forest areas. It is estimated that only about 200 to 300 of these rhinos are still alive.