White rhinoceros

Ceratotherium simum

A massive African rhinoceros of open grasslands. Its broad grazing mouth gives it the alternative name square-lipped rhinoceros.

Key facts

White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) is a herbivore animal classified as Mammal · Perissodactyla · Rhinocerotidae.
Primary habitats are savanna · grassland, with a range across Afrotropical.
Activity is cathemeral, sociality is herd, and conservation status is NT (Near Threatened).
A massive African rhinoceros of open grasslands.
White rhinos inhabit savanna, grassland, and open scrub where water, wallows, and short grazing lawns are available.

Habitat range map

Native rangeOccasional / Transient

Map: Ecoregions 2017 © RESOLVE (CC BY 4.0) · Natural Earth (PD)

White rhinos inhabit savanna, grassland, and open scrub where water, wallows, and short grazing lawns are available.

They have a huge body, two horns, a broad flat upper lip, and thick gray skin. Compared with black rhinos, they feed with the head held low.

Females and young form loose groups, while adult males often hold territories. Wallowing helps with cooling and parasite control.

They graze mainly on short grasses, cropping vegetation with the wide mouth and influencing grassland structure.

Females bear single calves that remain with them for years. Long intervals between calves make recovery from poaching slow.

Southern populations recovered through conservation, but poaching remains severe. The northern white rhinoceros is near functional extinction.