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Black Rhino
Also called the �hook-lipped� rhino, the black
rhino has a prehensile upper lip, which is used to
browse and feed on twigs of woody plants and
legumes.
Black rhinos were once found throughout
sub-Saharan Africa, with the exception of the Congo
Basin. They are now limited to 3,600 individuals in
a patchy distribution from Cameroon in the west, to
Kenya in the east, and south to South Africa.
Of the four sub-species of black rhino, the
southern-central black rhino (Diceros bicornis
minor) is the most numerous and inhabited a historic
range from central Tanzania down through Zambia,
Zimbabwe, and Mozambique to northern and eastern
South Africa.
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, the state conservation
organization in
KwaZulu-Natal, manages reserves
which are home to many of Africa�s 3,600 black
rhinos. The largest population, numbering around
300, lives in Hluhluwe-iMfolozi Park, a 1000km2
protected area of predominantly thornbush savannah (thornveld).
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife, supported by WWF, is forming
partnerships with landowners in areas which were
historically home to black rhinos. Given that very
few, if any, single landowners own pieces of land
large enough to support a significant black rhino
population, cooperative conservancies are being
established between adjacent landowners who are
prepared to remove their internal fences.
Lekker Links
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White Rhino
Also known as the �square-lipped�
rhinoceros, white rhinos have a squared (not
pointed) upper lip, which is used to graze
on grassland. They are larger than the black
rhino and have almost no hair
The southern white rhino (Ceratotherium
simum simum) is one of conservation�s
greatest success stories. Thought to be
extinct in the late 19th century, in 1895 a
small population of less than 100 was
discovered in
KwaZulu-Natal.
After more than a century of protection
and management, southern white rhinos are
now the only non-endangered rhinos.
Classified by WWF as Near Threatened, they
currently number about 11,000, confined to
protected areas and private game reserves.
South Africa remains the stronghold for
these rhinos, with smaller populations
having been re-introduced to Botswana,
Namibia, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe
As their numbers grow, white rhinos are
moving from protected areas to private
properties. In South Africa, WWF has set up
a project with the African Rhino Owners
Association (a group of private game
ranchers with significant rhinos on their
properties) to improve the security and
biological management of rhino populations.
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