Africa's Big 5 - Rhinoceros - Tag

Africa's Big 5 - Rhinoceros - Tag

Mission: To travel the world. Please keep me moving. Do not keep me, but take me to another cache.

"Big Five" refers to a term early hunters gave to the five most dangerous animals to hunt on foot. These animals include the Lion, African Elephant, Rhinoceros (both Hook-Lip (Black) and the Square Lip (White) Rhinos), Leopard and Cape Buffalo. These animals are protected today and are mostly found in game reserves.

There are five species of rhinos, two African and three Asian. The African species are the Hook-Lipped (Black) and Square-Lipped (White) Rhinos. Both species have two horns. (Asian rhinos include the Indian and the Javan, each with one horn, and the Sumatran, which has two.)

In the same way that the White rhino is not white, the Black rhino is not actually black. Their skin is more of a grey colour. There are a number of theories as to why the White rhino is called ‘white’ but perhaps the more common theory is that is that the English mis-translated the Afrikaans word "wyd" for the Square-lipped Rhino ("wyd" actually means "wide").  It may sound have sounded like 'white' to the English. They they referred to the Hook-lipped Rhino as "black" simply to differentiate between the two.

The black rhino is a browser and is often found in thick bush. It is more shy, secretive and can be very aggressive. The White rhino is a grazer and can often be found grazing on grass in the open plains. They need to feed on a daily basis but can survive for 4 to 5 days without water.

Rhino horns are not made of bone, but of keratin, the same material found in your hair and fingernails. A rhino’s horn is not attached to its skull. It is actually a compacted mass of hairs that continues to grow throughout the animal’s lifetime, just like our own hair and nails. The longest horn on record belonged to a white rhino and measured just under 1.524 metre or 152.4cm (about 60 inches or five feet).

The hunting and poaching of rhinos is nothing new – it has been going on for centuries. But the current level of poaching and dramatic increase in rhinos being lost to the poachers is leaving the species in very real danger of becoming extinct in the very near future.

Rhino are poached for their horn which is used in Traditional Asian Medicine (TAM), with Vietnam and China being the main ‘destination’ countries of rhino horn. In more recent times, rhino horn is also being used as a status symbol by the middle class population, particularly in Vietnam. The horn is used for remedies outside of TAM, such as curing a hangover!

A rhino’s horn is actually made of keratin, the same substance that makes up human hair and finger nails. Despite numerous scientific tests over a number of years, NO MEDICINAL VALUE has ever been identified in rhino horn.

The two African Rhino species are now considered ENDANGERED due to the numbers lost due to poaching.