Feb 8, 20183 min read

Black & White Rhinos: How to spot the difference

One of the famous Big Five, the rhino is one of the main attractions for wildlife lovers visiting Africa.

But with two main species of rhino, how can you spot the difference?

You may be planning a safari or you may already be there and want to know which one you just saw walking through the bush!

Here are the surefire ways to tell the difference between black and white rhinos.

COLOUR

One of the most common misconceptions is that black and white rhinos are different colours, so let's clear this one up first. All rhinos are grey!

In fact they can often appear brown because they love a mud bath!

The name White Rhino stems from Dutch settlers in Africa, who named the Rhino after their wide mouths - Wijd Rhinos. Misinterpreted by English speakers as White, they called the other species Black Rhinos to differentiate them. Which leads us nicely to...

FACIAL DIFFERENCES

The easiest way to spot the difference between black and white rhinos is by looking at their mouths. The wide-mouthed white rhinos are grazers, so their mouths are shaped like lawnmowers to help them eat grass. Black rhinos are browsers, so their mouths are pointed to help them pick leaves from branches with their top lips.

The difference between black & white rhinos

Other noticeable differences are that white rhinos have bigger heads and much longer foreheads, and their mouths tend to be much closer to the ground. Black rhinos are slightly smaller, with smaller heads that they hold up in the air.

HABITAT & BEHAVIOUR

Because of their eating habits you're most likely to find white rhinos out in the plains, with their heads low to the floor eating grass. Meanwhile you're more likely to spot black rhinos in areas with thick bush and shrubbery.

Black rhinos and white male rhinos tend to be solitary creatures. Female white rhinos often live together in a 'crash' or herd of up to 14.

Below is a photo of 3 black rhinos hanging out together in Western Kenya. While it is rare for rhinos to have twins, it is possible that this is a mother with two fully grown calves.

MAMAS & BABIES

Another way to tell the difference between black and white rhinos is when a calf is present. Black rhino calves follow closely behind their mum. They spend a lot of time in thick bush so the mum will clear the way. White rhino calves tend to stay out in front of their mum. Spending time out on the plains eating means that the mum can keep an eye on her baby.

Male calves will stay with their mother for 2 years, and females calves will stay as long as 4 years.

WHY ARE THEY SO RARE?

Poaching has let both species of rhinos to be under threat, particularly black rhinos. In 2017, an average of 3 rhinos were killed every single day in South Africa alone. Despite having no proven medicinal benefit of any kind, rhino horns can be worth as much as $100,000 per kg in Asian markets.

A particularly worrying trend is now in Vietnam where rhino horns are ground into a powder and snorted at parties like cocaine. It's not possible to get high from rhino horn, as it's made from keratin - the same protein as fingernails! The powder is also mixed with tonic as a "hangover cure" by Vietnam's status-seeking rich, and bought by desperate cancer sufferers who are misinformed that it can cure them.

DON'T LET POACHERS USE YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA

Remember to disable any geo-tagging when taking photos of rhinos or posting on your social media accounts. This practice has been around for several years now, following a photo that went viral on Twitter in 2014.

Poachers can extract this data and use the precise location tags to track rhinos. Also try to exclude as much of the background as possible as poachers can spot landmarks easily.