New! Sign up for our free email newsletter.
Reference Terms
from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Black Rhinoceros

The Black Rhinoceros, Diceros bicornis also colloquially Black Rhino is a mammal in the order Perissodactyla, native to the eastern and central areas of Africa including Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, South Africa, Namibia and Zimbabwe. Although the Rhino is referred to as a "Black" creature, it is actually more of a grey-white color in appearance.

For most of the 20th century the continental black rhino was the most numerous of all rhino species. Around 1900 there were probably several hundred thousand living in Africa. During the later half of the 20th century their number severely reduced from an estimated 70,000 in the late 1960s to only 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981. In the early 1990s the number dipped below 2500, and in 1995 it was reported that only 2,410 black rhinos remained. According to the International Rhino Foundation, the total African population has since then slightly recovered to 3,610 by 2003. According to a July 2006 report by the World Conservation Union, a recent survey of the West African Black Rhino, which once ranged across the savannahs of western Africa but had dropped to just 10, concluded the subspecies to be extinct.

Related Stories
 


Plants & Animals News

June 8, 2026

South Australia’s koala population has grown so large that it may be heading toward a self-made disaster, with forests struggling to support the animals. Researchers say targeted fertility control could prevent widespread starvation and habitat ...
A massive global analysis found that nitrogen pollution can either speed up or dramatically slow the natural "breathing" of forest soils, depending on the ecosystem's condition. The results reveal hidden tipping points that could affect how forests ...
A world-famous conservation program that helped save Sweden’s endangered wolverines is now struggling as funding stagnates and local trust erodes. Researchers say the decline offers a cautionary lesson: protecting wildlife requires long-term ...
A surprising new discovery suggests that tiny microbes living inside fish may be helping shape the chemistry of the world’s oceans. Scientists found evidence that bacteria in the guts of marine fish work alongside their hosts to produce calcium ...
A casual walk through an Ithaca cemetery led to the discovery of a gigantic hidden bee population — roughly 5.5 million ground-nesting bees packed beneath the soil. Scientists believe it may be one of the largest bee aggregations ever documented ...
A sweeping new study of wild snakes in the southeastern US has revealed a hidden health crisis slithering beneath the surface. Researchers found that many snakes are carrying multiple infections at once, with a dangerous fungal disease called ...
Scientists have uncovered a surprising twist in how cells behave when division goes wrong. Sometimes a cell successfully copies its DNA but fails to split into two, leaving it with double the genetic material — a mistake linked to aging, cancer, ...
Scientists have cracked open the “black box” of feline cancer in a landmark study that genetically analyzed nearly 500 cat tumors from around the world. The research uncovered striking ...
Researchers discovered that leucine, a nutrient found in protein-rich foods, can supercharge mitochondria by protecting crucial energy-producing proteins inside cells. The breakthrough uncovers a powerful new link between diet and cellular energy ...
MIT scientists have identified cysteine — an amino acid found in foods like meat, dairy, beans, and nuts — as a potent trigger for intestinal repair. In mice, a cysteine-rich diet activated immune cells that released healing signals, helping ...
For decades, scientists believed ancient humans avoided dense rainforests, treating them as nearly impossible environments for early survival. But a groundbreaking discovery in West Africa is rewriting that story. Researchers uncovered evidence that ...
Scientists in Australia are using cutting-edge DNA techniques to help save one of the world’s rarest marsupials — the critically endangered Gilbert’s potoroo, with fewer than 150 left in the wild. By analyzing tiny traces of DNA in the ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:56 pm ET