Feeding trials on captive black rhinoceros Diceros bicornis minor in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

The Andries Vosloo Kudu Reserve/Sam Knott Nature Reserve complex (AVKR/SKNR) in the eastern Cape has received translocated black rhinoceroses Diceros bicornis minor (Linnaeus 1758) as part of the national conservation plan for this species (Brooks 1988). The AVKR/SKNR complex is approximately 35 km northeast of Grahamstown (33.8 S, 26.39 E). Dominant vegetation is xeric succulent thicket, a suborder of subtropical tran- sitional thicket (Everard 1987), which encompasses Acocks's (1988) Fish River Scrub of the valley bushveld. It is a low (2 to 2,5 m), relatively sparse thicket with larger trees reaching 5 m (Everard 1987). Black rhinoceroses were common in this area in the past (Skead 1987). One sub-adult male and two adult female black rhinoceroses were kept in separate bomas for three weeks.