Rhino Facts – The Rhino Orphanage

©Bela Szandelszky / Pool via Getty Images

Do you know everything about white and black rhinos? These amazing animals have some unique habits which just make them even more adorable.

A newborn rhino should be up and walking within one hour after birth, but will remain wobbly for a few days
Average birth weight in black rhinos is 35.5 kg and 62.7 kg in white rhinoceros
A newborn rhino should start nursing from its mom within the first five hours and will start grazing at around 2 months of age

Rhino drinking milk

Pregnancy in rhinos is generally 15 to 16 months.
Rhinoceros milk is more dilute than that of other hoof stock, being high in carbohydrates, low in solids and proteins, and very low in fat.
Calves remain with their mothers from 2 to 4 years.

African rhinos don’t have incisors or canine teeth, but they do have big premolars and molars adapted for grinding vegetation.

Rhino Mouth

Running Baby Rhino, ©YVDM

White rhino calves will run in front of their mothers, in contrast, black rhinos calves will run behind their mothers during flight.
Rhinos can run up to 40-50 kph or 25-31 mph
They are much faster than humans!

Rhinos have acute hearing and smell senses but weak eyesight.

Rhino hearing

Rhinos in the mud

Rhinos like to wallow, dust bathe, rub and scratch against trees and rocks
Mud provides protection against ticks, biting insects and the sun
Mud also seals small wounds and prevents infestation by blowflies
They just look adorable in the mud
Like – really adorable

Rhino dung

Territorial males will use them to mark their territories and will scatter its dung by kicking backwards
Rhinos will use dung piles, called middens, which are scattered and used by several rhinos

Rhinos from time to time will lick termite mounds to get some minerals to supplement their diet

White rhinos can’t swim as their head is pointing down, but they will often lay in shallow water to cool down