Southern White Rhinoceros

White rhinos are actually grey—even more so when they wallow in soothing mud that keeps their skin free of insects and cool on a hot day. Other names for them are “grass rhino,” for their savanna diet, and “square-lipped rhino,” for their large, wide mouth. (An Afrikaans word, “weit,” means “wide” but sounds like “white,” which may be one way that white rhinos got their name.) They spend their days grazing short grasses in areas near water. They help maintain the biodiversity of plants in their habitats and prevent wildfires.

Females tend to live in small groups with their young. New babies are born after a 16-month gestation. Calves weigh more than 100 pounds at birth, and they are hornless for the first 6 weeks. They are cared for closely by their mothers for up to 3 years.

Males are more solitary and patrol large territories, which they mark with dung piles and other scents. Rhinos also communicate with vocalizations—and they respond to the alarm calls of oxpecker birds who ride on their backs, eating ticks off their skin! Rhinos are related to horses and tapirs—and they’re fast runners, with a top speed of 25 miles per hour for short bursts if threatened.