Southern white rhinoceros

Description:

The white rhino is the largest of the five species of rhinoceros and the world's largest land mammal after the three species of elephants. This rhino has a wide mouth used for grazing and is the most social of all rhino species. It spends about half of the day eating, one third resting, and the rest of the day doing various other things. They eat grasses and drink twice daily if water is available, but if conditions are dry, they can live 4-5 days without water. White rhinoceroses live in crashes or herds of up to 14 animals (usually mostly female). Females reach sexual maturity at 6–7 years of age while males reach sexual maturity between 10–12 years of age. A single calf is born and when threatened the baby will run in front of the mother, who is very protective of her calf and will fight for it vigorously. Weaning starts at 2 months, but the calf may continue suckling for over 12 months. The birth interval for the white rhino is between 2 and 3 years. Before giving birth the mother will chase off her current calf. White rhinos can live to be up to 40–50 years old.

Habitat:

As of 31 December 2007, there were an estimated 17,480 southern white rhino in the wild, making them the most abundant subspecies. South Africa is the stronghold for this subspecies (93%); there are smaller reintroduced populations within the historical range of the species in Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe and Swaziland, while a small population survives in Mozambique. Populations have also been introduced outside of the former range of the species to Kenya, Uganda and Zambia. They are found in grassland and savannah habitat.

Notes:

The first photo is the mom and the second the baby.