Neither rhinoceroses nor giraffes are found in the Queen Elizabeth Park, where the country is not very suitable for them.
The black rhino lives to the north of the Nile in the Murchison Park, but is not found to the south of the river. The white rhino lives only on the west bank of the Nile north of Lake Albert. The reason for this is not clear. There is vegetation suitable for both kinds of rhino on both sides of the river. Moreover, the black rhinos in the Murchison Park frequently visit certain islands in the Nile to reach a food-plant which they particularly like. They have to wade belly-deep, through turbulent water, to get there.
But there are about two hundred black rhinoceroses, and the same number of giraffes living north of the Nile in the Murchison Falls Park, in which there are sizable acacia woods.
The white rhino is the larger of the two animals and, after the elephants, is the largest land animal in the world.
The only white rhinos in Uganda live in a small area in the north-west of the country where, a few years ago, there were three or four hundred. But these peaceful, inoffensive creatures are an easy prey for poachers. They kill them for the horn, which people in India and China believe produces a potent medicine. By 1961 so many had been killed that there were less than one hundred left.
Both rhinos have three toes on each of their feet. This makes their tracks quite distinct from those of the hippopotamus, which has four toes.
The white rhino gets its name from the Dutch word wyd, meaning wide or broad. This refers to the animal's great square muzzle and has nothing to do with its colour - it is sometimes called the square-lipped rhinoceros. Its muzzle is like that of the hippopotamus and is perfectly designed for cropping the grass which this rhino eats. The black rhino has a long, pointed overlapping upper lip which enables it to strip leaves and shoots from the bushes and low-growing trees on which it feeds.
When a female white rhino is accompanied by a calf, she always walks behind it, prodding and steering it with her horn.
Both rhinos have poor eye-sight, but fairly good senses of smell and hearing - their ears, particularly the trumpet-shaped, hairfringed ears of the white rhino, are constantly switching and twisting.
Both these rhinos have two horns, which are composed of a tightly packed mass of hair-like fibres growing on the nose. The front horn is the longer of the two and, in exceptional cases, may reach over fifty inches.
In Africa there are two kinds of rhinoceros. They are known as the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros, though in fact they are both the same slaty-grey colour. The white rhino gets its name from the Dutch word wyd, meaning wide or broad. This refers to the animal's great square muzzle and has nothing to do with its colour - it is sometimes called the square-lipped rhinoceros.
Has a much larger head than the black rhino, and usually holds this low down, near to the ground.
Gestation period. 16 months
The white rhino is much more sociable, so that small family groups of five or six animals are not at all uncommon.
Has a much larger head than the black rhino, and usually holds this low down, near to the ground.
Gestation period 18 months
The rhino calf was released immediately afterwards. First it circled the lorry rather suspiciously. Then it called to its mother in a husky voice, rather like the greeting whinny of a horse. The cow heard the call and replied.
The white rhino is placid by nature.
In Africa there are two kinds of rhinoceros. They are known as the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros, though in fact they are both the same slaty-grey colour.
The black rhino is one of the most unpredictable animals in Africa. It is a mixture of truculence and timidity, and can be extremely stupid. The black rhino is always liable to charge, or at least rush towards, any unfamiliar object, whatever it may be. It charges with its head held up, lowering it only when close enough to use its horns. The rhino comes very fast, and is surprisingly nimble for so large an animal, for it can turn sharply even at full speed. But it often misses its aim and goes straight on.
In Africa there are two kinds of rhinoceros. They are known as the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros, though in fact they are both the same slaty-grey colour. The white rhino gets its name from the Dutch word wyd, meaning wide or broad. This refers to the animal's great square muzzle and has nothing to do with its colour - it is sometimes called the square-lipped rhinoceros.
The black rhino has a long, pointed over- lapping upper lip which enables it to strip leaves and shoots from the bushes and low-growing trees on which it feeds.
From the end of the nose to the tip of the tail, a white rhino bull may measure fourteen feet
In Africa there are two kinds of rhinoceros. They are known as the black rhinoceros and the white rhinoceros, though in fact they are both the same slaty-grey colour.
Like many other animals, black rhinos can be inquisitive. If one stays quite still beside a tree, or on top of an ant-hill, they will sometimes come to within a few yards before realizing what they are approaching. In some circumstances, they will respond to a whistle, and trot up to see what has caused this unusual sound.
Walking about in black rhino country can be exciting, for one may come upon the animals quite suddenly and it is impossible to anticipate their actions. Once I nearly trod on a rhino, which was lying on the ground. I thought that it was an ant-hill, but was saved in time by noticing a twitching car. On another occasion, I was walking up a dry river-bed in which there were patches of thick reeds. I suddenly realized that I was very close to a large animal of some sort, but had no idea what it was as it was completely hidden. An angry snort, and a noise like the rush of an express train, showed that there had been a black rhino less than four yards away. Luckily it went off in the opposite direction
Although black rhinos are sometimes seen in small parties, (and calves naturally stay with their mothers), they are usually solitary in habit.
Both kinds of rhino seem normally to live for about thirty years.
From the end of the nose to the tip of the tail, a black rhino may measure twelve.
Both rhinos have three toes on each of their feet. This makes their tracks quite distinct from those of the hippopotamus, which has four toes.
Both kinds of rhinoceros breed slowly, one calf being dropped every four years or so.
The white rhino gets its name from the Dutch word wyd, meaning wide or broad. This refers to the animal's great square muzzle and has nothing to do with its colour - it is sometimes called the square-lipped rhinoceros. Its muzzle is like that of the hippopotamus and is perfectly designed for cropping the grass which this rhino eats. The black rhino has a long, pointed overlapping upper lip which enables it to strip leaves and shoots from the bushes and low-growing trees on which it feeds.
The black rhino has a long, pointed over- lapping upper lip which enables it to strip leaves and shoots from the bushes and low-growing trees on which it feeds.
A large bull weighs more than three tons
A large bull stands over six feet at the shoulder.
The black rhino weighs under two tons.
The black rhino stands about five feet
