White rhino

A huge animal that feeds exclusively on grass, the white rhino has a wide mouth shaped for 'mowing' short grass. Its square lips set it apart from the hook-lipped black rhino.

Like horses and tapirs, rhinos have a simple stomach. Bacteria in their digestive tract help them digest the 60–80kg of vegetation they eat a day.

Our rhinos are fed pellets and leaves on top of grass. Keepers scatter these on the ground to suit their grazing habits. Fruits are given as treats.

Rhinos wallow in mud to cool off, so keepers make sure the big mud pool in the exhibit is always filled. Dried mud also acts as sunscreen for the rhinos.

In the wild, tickbirds pick out ticks and other parasites hiding among the creases in the rhino’s skin. Local birds, however, go as far as to peck on our rhinos’ flesh—a problem also faced by other zoos. Our keepers check their charges daily for any open wounds, applying medicine and rubbing mud over for added protection.

White rhinos mark their territory using communal dung piles (middens). Males step on and kick their faeces around to warn off other males. Males can also tell if females are ready to mate with a whiff of the midden.

Courtship disputes are settled with a clash of horns. Sadly, these horns are no defence against poachers’ guns. Alike to a mass of compacted hair, rhino horns are strangely prized for medicinal and ornamental uses and worth more than gold on the black market.