Black rhino

The black rhino used to be the most numerous rhino species with several hundred thousand animals across Africa, but numbers decreased to as low as 2,400 between 1970 and 1992 because of hunting, partly due to the high demand for the use of rhino horn in traditional Chinese medicine. The black rhino is now a protected species and in 2012 the population living in southern and eastern Africa was estimated to be 5,055, although one subspecies, the western black rhinoceros, was declared extinct in 2011. There is actually no colour difference between the white and black rhino; they are both dark grey, but the colour can vary between grey and brown depending on local conditions. Black rhinos are smaller than white rhinos and stand at approximately 1.6 m tall at the shoulder and measure about 3.3 m in length, with adult males weighing up to 1,400 kg and females up to 900 kg. Calves weigh around 30 to 45 kg and can usually stand within the first few hours after being born. Black rhinos eat from high bushes or trees and generally live near a water source. They cannot see very well but they have an excellent sense of smell and hearing, and move extremely fast; they can run at speeds of up to 55 kmh.  Black rhinos can live up to 30 to 35 years in the wild and 35 to 45 years in captivity. With strict protection numbers are slowly increasing, but they still face a high risk of extinction.