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Rhino Resource Center: Rhino Forums > Rhinos In Situ > Natural distribution > African Rhinos: How far north?

Posted by: Steven Jul 8 2007, 02:35 PM

I was wandering how far north African (black and White) rhinos have been known to live. Has the Sahara always been their natural boundary or have there been reports of rhinos living in certain 'liveable pockets' in the sahara or even north of it: Egypt, Algeria, Libya etc.. Thanks in advance!

Posted by: Kees Jul 9 2007, 08:27 AM

Dear Steven In the western part of Africa, there are no recent reports of rhinos in the Sahara or North of it. In the image gallery, search for "West Africa" which gives a map of the available records. However, there are rock drawings in countries north of its current range, and fossils have been found at least in Morocco and Algeria. When you move further eastwards, rhinos were found further north in Nigeria, Cameroons, CAR, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea. For a good review, in the reference base look for the paper by Sidney 1965. If anybody has details of old records for any parts of this range, it would be nice to post them here.

Posted by: Steven Jul 9 2007, 02:40 PM

Kees, thanks for the info! I've had a look at the Sidney article and will study it more tonight. The speed at wich I got this answer and the fact that the article can be found online amazes me. Great Website!!

Posted by: Kate Sep 29 2007, 12:57 PM

Hi, I have just had a right cuneiform bone identified as rhino, cf. diceros bicornis from the Lower Tilemsi Valley in northeastern Mali. The bone dates to c. 4500 bp, so inidicates their distribution this far north-west around this time. I also wanted to ask if anybody had any thoughts on the distribution of black and white rhinos during this time. Ioannis Giaourtsakis from Meunchen identified the bone for me, and suggested that its locality and date probably fit best with the black rhino. I saw that rookmaker (2004) suggests the rock drawings from northern Niger may be representative of the white rhino. Any thoughts on this? Thanks Kate

Posted by: Steven Oct 1 2007, 06:05 PM

Sounds very interesting. I believe both could have occured as in most parts of Africa Black an White Rhinos share almost the same range. Is this the first discovery of this kind?

Posted by: Kate Oct 1 2007, 07:23 PM

Thanks Steven, It seems to be, at least according to the zoological literature that i have read, although that is not inclusive. If i find anything in the archaeological literature i will post it. Kate

Posted by: cena2020 Jun 21 2010, 05:11 AM

There are two subspecies of the white rhino -- the northern white rhino, which is nearly extinct, and the southern white rhino, which is the most common of all rhinos. The white rhino is actually gray. Its name probably stems from the mistranslation of the Dutch word for "wide" describing its upper lip. It lives on the open plains of Africa. The largest of the rhinos, it stands more than 6 feet tall and weighs 6,000 to 8,000 pounds. It also has the longest horn, averaging 18 inches to 4 feet. Black rhinoceros, (Diceros bicornis) The black rhino also lives in Africa, but in a variety of habitats from the dense rainforests to the dry scrublands. Once numerous in eastern and southern Africa, it is now only found in national parks and game reserves. The black rhino stands more than 5 l/2 feet tall and weighs up to 4,000 pounds. Its front horn averages 18 inches to 4 feet. Indian rhinoceros, (Rhinoceros unicornis) The Indian rhino weighs the same as the black rhino -- about 4,000 pounds -- but stands about 6 feet tall. This rhino was once found throughout most of India, particularly in lush river valleys. Today, it survives only on eight reserves in India and Nepal. Living in swampy areas, it eats marsh grasses and aquatic plants. Sumatran rhinoceros, (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) The Sumatran rhino is the only Asian rhino species with two horns and the only rhino with hair on its body. The front horn averages 15 to 20 inches and the second may be hardly noticeable. It stands about 4 l/2 feet tall and weighs 750 to 2,000 pounds. There are a few Sumatran rhinos left in Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, and Sumatra. They live in dense forests and feed on plants at the forest edges and in mountain clearings. Javan rhinoceros, (Rhinoceros sondaicus) Like the Sumatran, the Javan rhino also lives in dense forests, feeding at forest edges and mountain clearings on bamboo, fruit, and other plants. There are fewer than 100 Javan rhinos on a game reserve in western Java, and many believe they are extinct in the wild. Javan rhinos weigh up to 3,000 pounds and measure ------------------------------------------------- http://www.precise-english.com/proofreading.html | http://www.precise-english.com/seo-copywriting.html

Posted by: cena2020 Jun 21 2010, 05:27 AM

The Indian rhino weighs the same as the black rhino -- about 4,000 pounds -- but stands about 6 feet tall. This rhino was once found throughout most of India, particularly in lush river valleys. Today, it survives only on eight reserves in India and Nepal. Living in swampy areas, it eats marsh grasses and aquatic plants. Sumatran rhinoceros, (Dicerorhinus sumatrensis) The Sumatran rhino is the only Asian rhino species with two horns and the only rhino with hair on its body. The front horn averages 15 to 20 inches and the second may be hardly noticeable. It stands about 4 l/2 feet tall and weighs 750 to 2,000 pounds. There are a few Sumatran rhinos left in Burma, Malaysia, Thailand, and Sumatra. They live in dense forests and feed on plants at the forest edges and in mountain clearings. Javan rhinoceros, (Rhinoceros sondaicus) Like the Sumatran, the Javan rhino also lives in dense forests, feeding at forest edges and mountain clearings on bamboo, fruit, and other plants. There are fewer than 100 Javan rhinos on a game reserve in western Java, and many believe they are extinct in the wild. Javan rhinos weigh up to 3,000 pounds and measure 4 l/2 to 5 l/2 feet tall. ------------------------------------------------- http://www.precise-english.com/proofreading.html | http://www.precise-english.com/seo-copywriting.html