![]() Size: Up to 3.3 meters tall, weighing 6,000kg.ĭiet: Elephants are vegetarians, eating up to 160kg per day, made up of savannah grasses, bushes, small plants, fruit, twigs, tree bark, and roots. An elephant flapping its ears, kicking up dust, and/or trumpeting is probably about to charge. Keep your distance from them, and if in a vehicle ensure that you have the means to drive away forwards – elephants can run faster than a car can reverse. Both are herbivores that live in large groups, whilst the African bush elephant is the larger of the two species, and typically the species referred to as a member of the big five animals.Ī bull elephant can be dangerous, as can herds or mothers with young elephants. ![]() There are actually two species of African elephant – the African bush elephant and the smaller African forest elephant. Their distinguishing features include the dexterous trunk, large ears that cool the body when flapped, and elongated incisors in the form of tusks. The African elephant ( Loxodonta africana) is the largest and heaviest land animal in the world, weighing up to 6 tonnes, and eating massive amounts of food each day. Sometimes it can break off, however, this regenerates and grows back eventually.African elephants are the largest of the big five animals Black Rhinos will fight each other over territory and females – even courting males and females sometimes fight one another.īlack Rhinos use the larger of their two horns as a weapon when fighting. Black Rhinos will attack other animals though if their territory is threatened, they also fight amongst themselves. Most of their ‘charges’ are bluffs but because they act in this way, they have been given a bad reputation as being aggressive and dangerous.īlack Rhinos do however, live in harmony with other animals generally. If it catches a smell of an unfamiliar presence, then it will instinctively charge mistaking it as a threat. They rely heavily on their strong sense of smell and well developed hearing. Black Rhinos have been known to attack trees and rocks by mistake. This is important because it allows grasses to grow which provides food for many other animals on the grassy plains.īlack Rhinos have a tendency to attack just about anything, this is because of their poor eyesight. The Black Rhinos skin harbours many external parasites, which are eaten by birds such as the ox peckers and egrets that live with the rhino.īlack Rhinos are heavy browsers that restrict woody plants from over-growing in their habitat. The Black Rhinos prehensile lip is used much like a finger to select and pick the twigs and leaves that they prefer. Black Rhinos tend to live alone, except when breeding and raising offspring.īlack rhinos have a ‘prehensile’ lip – ‘prehensile’ meaning – adapted for grasping and holding. Black Rhinos can still show considerable bouts of aggression, even though they are mainly shy and solitary animals. ![]() The Black rhino is smaller than the White rhino and is more agile in movement. These horns are used for defence, intimidation and digging up roots and breaking branches during feeding. Sometimes, a third smaller horn may develop. The rhinos two horns on their skull are made of keratin with the larger front horn typically 50 centimetres long, some can measure up to 140 centimetres. ![]() An adult weighs from 800 to 1400 kilograms (1,760 to 3,080 pounds), some may weigh 1820 kilograms (4,000 pounds), with the females being smaller than the males. An adult Black Rhinoceros stands 140 – 170 centimetres (57.9 – 63 inches) high at the shoulder and is 3.3 – 3.6 metres (10.8 – 11.8 feet) in length.
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