Animal of the Week (Week #10): The Black Rhinoceros (And Introducing the Critically Endangered Species Series!)
It's Week 10 of the Animal of the Week series, and I couldn't be happier to introduce the black rhinoceros for this week's Animal of the Week! Read on to discover facts about these interesting animals and conservation efforts.
Before we hop in, a quick announcement on Animal of the Week posts: I'm preparing a series of posts that will be released in a new ten-part series on this blog: Critically Endangered Species Series! CESS will be a series of posts published every Friday for ten straight weeks to raise awareness for the critically endangered species on our planet. If you have a preference for which species comes out each week, contact me in the "About the Website" section and I'll try to take your comments into consideration!
Now let's jump right in :)
Photo by World Wildlife Organization. Source of this image.
1) What is the black rhino?
The black rhino is a type of African rhino, that contrary to its name is not black. The International Rhino Foundation credits its name to the color it has after lying in the dark mud (source). Its classification is critically endangered, but its population is increasing thanks to conservation efforts (see #4).
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| Image by Dave Hamman Photography, taken from IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Source of this image. |
2) Where do they live and how many are left?
The International Rhino Foundation says that black rhinos primarily live in "grasslands, savannahs and tropical bush lands" in Africa (International Rhino Foundation). There are more than 5,600 black rhinos today thanks to all the conservation efforts (including those of the International Rhino Foundation!) (source), which, as you'll read about in #3, is a definite increase.
Check out this source to learn more: https://rhinos.org/about-rhinos/rhino-species/black-rhino/
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| Image by Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). Source of this image. |
3) How did the species get endangered?
According to WWF, this species became endangered due to European hunters. The hunting caused their numbers to drop by 98% by the end of the 1900s. 98%! Only 2% were left by 1995, which was about 2,500 black rhinos. (Source)
Check out this source to learn more: https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/black-rhino
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| Image by Dave Hamman Photography, taken from IUCN (International Union for Conservation of Nature). Source of this image. |
4) What are some interesting facts about this animal?
Its lip is pointed upward, unlike the white rhino whose lip is square (National Geographic). According to National Geographic, this is due to black rhinos needing to pluck their food from branches, hence being pointed upward, while white rhinos graze and have square lips for this reason.
Check out this source to learn more: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/mammals/facts/black-rhinoceros
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| Image by Wildlife Conservation Network (WCN). Source of this image. |
5) What conservation efforts are currently in place?
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) states the increase is due to "law enforcement efforts and successful population management measures, including moving selected rhinos from established populations to new locations to keep populations productive and increase the species’ range." (Source). You can read more about a relocation effort, just like IUCN is describing, in the organization spotlight.
This week's organization spotlight is Rhino Recovery Fund, is a fund that invests in other organizations and projects helping rhino numbers recover. According to their website, "100% of every dollar donated to the RRF will be deployed to the field."
Read About It: "Returning Black Rhinos to Gonarezhou", Wildlife Conservation Network (September 28th, 2021)
Website: https://www.rhinorecoveryfund.org/
That's it for this post! Thanks for tuning in, and I'll see you next week for another post in the Critically Endangered Species Series.
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Hi there! I'm TheBookishElephant- a writer, reader, and a HUGE fan of all things animal! This blog is an inspiration of the animals I have seen growing up, and animals I hope to see as I continue on in my life! Animal Awareness is one of the things that can get out the word and help create change. Want to support my mission? Go ahead and click the follow button! Followers really inspire me to push the blog more and hopefully get word out the whole world! Well, what are you waiting for? There's fun awaiting!
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