A blind, and solitary creature.
The black rhino is a species that inhabits a large portion of Africa, from the Eastern coast (Kenya and Tanzania) down to South Africa and neighboring countries. A certain subspecies of the rhino – the Western Black Rhinoceros (D. b. longipes) – once inhabited the central part of the continent (Cameroon and South Sudan), but due to extreme poaching and other smaller threats, they were confirmed extinct in 2011 by the IUCN. (Boettcher, 2011)
As there are very few black rhinos in the wild today, and the range they inhabit is so vast, their population density values per country range from 0.02 rhino/sq. km in the Serengeti in Tanzania, to 1.7 rhinos/sq. km in Hluhluwe, South Africa. The average of all the values collected is approximately 0.4 rhino/sq. km. ("Diceros bicornis", 2006)
As there are very few black rhinos in the wild today, and the range they inhabit is so vast, their population density values per country range from 0.02 rhino/sq. km in the Serengeti in Tanzania, to 1.7 rhinos/sq. km in Hluhluwe, South Africa. The average of all the values collected is approximately 0.4 rhino/sq. km. ("Diceros bicornis", 2006)
The rhino is a relatively solitary species. It is usually found alone, however, observed groups of more than one rhino often include lone males, or adult females and their young. Females usually stay together with their calves, or with a neighboring female. Rhinos may also form temporary groups (mainly consisting of lone males), and move and feed in these groups for a short period of time. Thus, the dispersion of rhinos depends on the environment that they are in, and on the number of the aforementioned temporary groups. Rhinos eat, walk, and drink primarily in the morning or evening hours. It is then that a somewhat clumped dispersion system may be observed. However, during the day, these animals are largely inactive, and sleep and stand in a seemingly random distribution, often favouring areas providing relief from parasites and heat. They also enjoy bathing or wallowing in mud to relieve the heat. (Emslie 2012)
Rhinoceros’ birth at intervals ranging from 2.5 to 4 years. These values may vary, possibly increasing in high density populations. As is the case with density, the birth rate of rhino calves varies per region examined. It was reported at only 0.17 calves/female/year in Luangwa, in Zambia, and was upwards of 0.46 calves/female/year in the Addo region in South Africa. This species lives 30-35 years in the wild, with 2 to 3 of those years having spent in the company of the mother. ("Diceros bicornis", 2006) In terms of genetic diversity, the black rhinoceros has had to endure a relatively subtle bottleneck effect. The Diceros bicornis michaeli subspecies has managed to maintain a high heterozygosity, at 0.675, comparable to the Diceros bicornis minor, which maintains a value of 0.459. Diceros bicornis longipes exhibited the lowest amount of diversity of all the subspecies examined, and after the study was conducted, they were tragically declared extinct, as previously stated. ("Genetic variation", 2005) |