Wildlife Africa- Black Rhino, Behavior, Africa, Wilflife

HABITAT	Black Rhinos prefer densely wooded areas, with a lot of shrubs and plenty of water.
HABITS	Black Rhinos are very solitary animals, with bulls associating with females only for mating. Sub adults and youngsters stay with their mother only until the next calf is born, when they are driven off to find their own territories. The Black Rhino bulls mark their territory by dragging their feet trough their dung, scattering it all over the place and by urinating on to bushes. They are extremely aggressive animals. A charge by a Black Rhino, with is loud snorts, it's a terrifying affair. They readily attack predators including Man. They also shortsighted, but their sense of smell and hearing is very acute. Adult males can weight up to 1200 Kg., females being slightly smaller. Their life-span is about 40 years.
DIET	Black Rhinos are browsers, eating leaves, fruit, flowers, but also eating herbs.
BREEDING	Mating is always preceded by courtship behavior that includes snorting and sparring with the horns. Mating is repeated several times during a period of 2 to 3 days, and may last about 30 minutes at a time. A single calf, weighing about 35 Kg. is born after a gestation period of about 15 months. Contrary to White Rhinos, the Black Rhino's calf always follows his mother.

ORDER	FAMILY	Scientific name
Perissodactyla	Rhinocerotidae	Diceros bicornis (Linnaeus,1758)