Saturday, June 29, 2013

hello everyone! This is Shadowdaya123! And big news! From Mr.R

We are going to start the rhino project with the kids from Africa soon. I need everyone to get ready! Mr.R says. So everyone get ready for this event!

Tuesday, June 18, 2013

conservation

Conservation

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[2] living in Africa. During the latter half of the 20th century their numbers were severely reduced from an estimated 70,000[25] in the late 1960s to only 10,000 to 15,000 in 1981. In the early 1990s the number dipped below 2,500, and in 2004 it was reported that only 2,410 black rhinos remained. According to the International Rhino Foundation, the total African population had recovered to 4,240 by 2008 (which suggests that the 2004 number was low).[26] In 2002 only 10 West African rhinos remained in Cameroon, and in 2006 intensive surveys across its putative range failed to locate any, leading to fears that this subspecies was extinct.[14] In 2011 the IUCN declared the Western black rhino extinct.[27]
The only rhino that has recovered somewhat from the brink of extinction is the southern white whose numbers now are estimated around 14,500, up from fewer than 50 in the first decade of the 20th century.[28]
The black rhinoceros had been pushed to the brink of extinction by illegal poaching for their horn, and to a lesser extent by loss of habitat. A major market for rhino horn has historically been in the Arab nations to make ornately carved handles for ceremonial daggers called jambiyas. Demand for these exploded in the 1970s causing the black rhinoceros population to decline 96% between 1970 and 1992. The horn is also used in traditional Chinese medicine, and is said by herbalists to be able to revive comatose patients, cure fevers, and aid male sexual stamina and fertility.[29] The purported effectiveness of the use of rhino horn in treating any illness has not been confirmed by medical science. In June 2007, the first-ever documented case of the medicinal sale of black rhino horn in the United States (confirmed by genetic testing of the confiscated horn) occurred at a traditional Chinese medicine supply store in Portland, Oregon's Chinatown.[29]


Tuesday, June 4, 2013

Black Rhino' s Habitat


Physical description

The black rhinoceros has two horns, and occasionally a third small posterior horn. The anterior horn is longer than the posterior, averaging 50cm long.

The species is distinguished from the white rhino by a prehensile upper lip (hence the alternative name of hook-lipped rhino), which it uses to feed on twigs of woody plants and a variety of herbaceous plants.

Size: 800-1,400 kg.

Colour: Dark yellow brown to dark brown or dark gray.

Living in deserts, grasslands and montane forests

Black rhinos are mainly found in grassland-forest transition zones, but are present in habitats ranging from desert in south-western Africa to montane forests in Kenya.

The species is usually restricted to areas within about 25km of water sources. Black rhinos can often be found in mud or water wallows, where they cool themselves.

Social structure

Adult black rhinos are mostly solitary, although they may form groups of 12 individuals. Mother and daughters may stay together for long periods of time, while females that do not have offspring join a neighbouring female.

Conflict usually arises when outsiders enter an area already utilized by a clan. During courtship, conflicts over a female may result in the death of one of the competing males.

Life cycle
Black rhino calves begin to wean at about 2 months of age. Although females reach sexual maturity at 4-5 years, they do not have their first calf until they are 6.5-7 years old. Males need to wait until they are 10-12 years old before they can claim a territory and mate. Black rhinos may reach 40-50 years of age.

Breeding
Breeding is reported to occur throughout the year. The gestation period is between 419 and 478 days, with an average interval of 2.5-3.5 years between calves.