Reflective journal 2: Articles on white rhinoceros

White Rhinos are divided into two distinct subspecies, the Northern White Rhino and the Southern White Rhino. The Southern White Rhino is the least endangered of the living kinds of rhino, with a population of about 17,500, while the Northern White Rhino is feared extinct in the wild, as reported on June 17, 2008, the remaining Northern White Rhinos in the world were feared to have been killed for their horns by poachers.

The Southern White Rhino was considered extinct (due to poaching) until 1895, when a small population of less than 100 individuals was discovered in South Africa. White Rhinos are confined to private ranches and heavily protected areas; however, poaching remains a threat. Nearly all of the White Rhinos are located in South Africa. The WWF also reports that small populations have been re-introduced to Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Kenya, Zambia, and Cote d'Ivoire. Recently, a Southern white rhino was born in Uganda.

The White Rhino has two horns comprised of compressed keratin - basically hair and fingernail material. The White Rhino is actually not white in color; the name is thought to be a result of mistaking the Afrikaans word "weit" (meaning "wide") for "white." The White Rhino is grey, although he or she often looks brown due to being covered in mud after wallowing.

The White Rhino is most readily identified by its square lip, and is also known as the Square-Lipped Rhinoceros. The square lip is used for grazing on grasses. While looking at the rhino's head, you will see eyelashes and a little bit of hair on the ears. The other area where the White Rhino has hair is the tip of the tail.

Like all rhinos, the White Rhino is an odd-toed ungulate, having three toes - each with a sturdy hoof-like nail. Also in common with other rhinos is a superb sense of hearing, keen sense of smell - but relatively poor eyesight. The White Rhino, along with the roughly equal-sized Indian Rhino, is the largest species of land mammal after the elephant.

http://www.savingrhinos.org/White-Rhino.html

My reflection:

From the article, I realised that there is actually two types of white rhinos, namely northern and southern white rhinos. The remaining population of the white rhino in the world was rather rare. Most of them can be found in South Africa, with a small population in Kenya, Botswana, Zambia and Uganda. I felt interesting to read a fun fact regarding the colour of the white rhino, which is grey, not white.

I learnt that the white rhino can be identified by its square lips, they are also known as the 'square-lipped rhinoceros'. The square lip is used for grazing on grasses. From this, I knew that the white rhinos have special body features to help them function. White rhino is being considered as an odd-toed ungulate. This is because it consists of three toes which look like nail. They have a good sense of hearing and smelling, but poor eyesight. I was surprised when it says the white rhino is actually the second largest land mammal.

From the website, I had also learnt about the difference between black and white rhino. They are not really differentiate by colour, but the shapes of their mouths. White rhinos have broad flat lips for grazing while black rhinos have long pointed lips for eating foliage. White rhino is normally doubled the size of a black rhino. I felt interesting to know all these information regarding of white rhino. I had gained lots of knowledge and became more familiar with this species after reading it.