Despite the fact that now scientists are trying to do everything to preserve endangered species of animals, the most unusual representatives of unique creatures annually disappear.
Thus, humanity has lost a unique giant, and today - in 2013 - we can safely say that the black rhino has died out. For several decades, they tried to preserve this species, but poachers and other criminals turned out to be more agile, and an unusual animal disappeared from the face of the Earth forever. The history of rhinos dates back hundreds of years, during which they peacefully existed in the savannahs and on green continents.
The black rhino appeared in Africa, and initially there were two species of this animal: white and black. It is noteworthy that the skin color of both is gray. The differences in their names depended on those places where the giants lived, more precisely - on the color and composition of the earth. As you know, rhinos love to wallow in the mud, and, accordingly, the soil, which was more clay, gave the skin of the animal a white tint.
Description
The black rhino is a large animal, whose weight reached two tons, and its length was more than 3 meters (with a height of 1.5 meters). Despite the fact that we are accustomed to the fact that the wayward giant has only one horn on his head, in fact, African individuals usually had 2, and sometimes 5.
The front horn was the largest, and its length sometimes reached half a meter. In history, there were individuals in which the main tusk reached a length of more than a meter. As early as the beginning of the 20th century, there were a huge number of black rhinos, and they were the most common inhabitants of the savannah. These amazing animals lived in central, eastern and southern parts of Africa.
Rhino lifestyle and behavior
Rhinos fed on young shoots of shrubs, tolerated heat very well. The animals went very far to the watering place, sometimes overcoming distances of 8-10 km. In its way of life, the black rhino was rather a loner.
The female’s pregnancy lasted about 15-16 months, and only one baby was born, who for several years was fed mother’s milk.
The black rhinos spent the night where it was convenient for them, because their huge size allowed them not to be afraid of anyone. The giants slept on their side or bent their legs under themselves. It used to be that animals mark territory, leaving huge heaps of manure. In fact, this happened spontaneously, for no reason. Black rhinos grazed day and night - at any convenient time.
The only danger to the rhino was lions, which sometimes attacked small cubs. But most often the predators suffered themselves, because in the battle, even with one rhinoceros, there was little chance of victory. Rhinos, however, are very nearsighted and slow. This played against them when the poachers attacked. Even being at a short distance from a person or tree, animals could not recognize him. But the rhinoceros hearing is excellent. Some hunters noted the ability of clumsy fat men per kilometer to smell danger and successfully hide.
A distinctive feature of the giants, of course, was considered their hot-tempered character. Being in a seemingly calm state, after a second the rhino could get furious and start rushing at the workers of the zoo or reserve. There were often cases when during their travels tourists on a safari came across an aggressive-minded animal that literally turned their car over. Despite its slowness and clumsiness, a rhino can reach speeds of up to 45 kilometers per hour or more.
So in a fair fight, he always wins. It is known that sometimes rhinos encounter elephants, and usually these "fights" end fatally for one of the rivals. Most often, the reason for the dispute is the reluctance of one of the giants to give way to another. And, despite the fact that the elephant is much larger, his opponent always had with him quite impressive weapons. As you know, the length of the horn of a black rhino was at least 0.5 meters, so it could cause serious injuries to a larger animal.
There were four subspecies of this individual.
South central black rhino
The habitat of this animal is from the central part of North Africa to the eastern part of South Africa. The largest number of individuals could be found in the southern region. In fact, this subspecies still exists, but is already listed in the Red Book, and its condition is currently assessed as critical.
Southwest black rhino
This subspecies of rhinos is most adapted to living in arid places. Animals lived in Namibia and Angola, Southeast, Southwest and South Africa. At the moment, the subspecies is also on the verge of extinction.
East African Rhino
Historically, this subspecies was located in southern Sudan, Ethiopia and Somalia. Now some representatives of the East African rhino can be found in Kenya, but the number of individuals is minimized annually, and now they are in critical condition.
West African Black Rhino
Recall that the African black rhino today has completely disappeared and is officially declared extinct. Already at the beginning of the 20th century, the number of this species was only a few individuals, and scientists tried to preserve them until the last. After research in 2006, specialists could not find a single representative of the West African black rhino. Therefore, in 2011, this subspecies was officially recognized as extinct.
What caused the disappearance of rhinos?
First of all, this is all due to the active work of poachers in Africa, who sell not only the meat and skin of these amazing animals, but also actively hunt for their unique horns, the cost of which on the black market is a very impressive amount.
According to scientists, the main reason for the complete extinction of the black rhino and the potential extinction of white is the neglect of the state to protect the giants in their habitats. Every year, more and more criminal gangs appear on the territory of Africa, which continue to exterminate the already few populations of rhinos and other endangered species.
According to recent studies by biologists, at the moment, white rhinos, also living in northern Africa, are on the verge of extinction. If in the near future no measures will be taken to preserve the population of these giants, then very soon these amazing animals will simply not remain in the world. The black rhino (photos are presented in the article) is a truly unprecedented creation of nature, and it is regrettable that now it can only be seen in the pictures.
