Square-lipped Rhinoceros

A White Rhino bull at the Bloemfontein Zoo in the Free State of South Africa. The White Rhinoceros or Square-lipped Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. It is the third largest land mammal. It is not quite as aggressive as, and somewhat larger than the Black Rhino (Diceros bicornis). The two distinctive horns are densely packed hair, and not really horns. The White Rhino is strictly a grazer, favouring short grass. Rhinos have poor eyesight but excellent sense of smell and hearing. There is very little difference in colour between the Black and the White Rhino. The name for the White Rhino comes from the Dutch word ' weit' ( in Afrikaans ‘wyd’) meaning 'wide', which refers to the mouth. This name was thought to be white. White Rhino bulls are very territorial and on a daily basis they patrol their territories, chasing out intruding bulls, as well as scent-marking the area by spray-urinating on trees and on the ground. The market in rhino horns has lead to significant threats to rhinos due to poaching. Camera: CanonEOS 500D

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