SOUTHERN WHITE RHINOCEROS Order: Perissodactyla Family: Rhinocerotidae Range or distribution: Eastern and Southern Africa. White rhinos live in savannas and grasslands; swamps when is dry season Herbivores. Graze on short grass and low savanna bushes. Lifespan: 25 to 30 years in the wild; up to 45 years in zoos. Size: Length 13 to 17 feet.Height 5-7 feet. Weight 3200 to 8000 lbs. Thick armor-like skin for moving through thorny shrubs.
The northern subspecies were found in a past, west of the Upper Nile River, from northwestern Uganda and the northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo northward into southern Sudan and adjacent parts of the Central African Republic and the southern border of Chad. A feature of the historical distribution of the species as a whole is the limitation of large rivers, possibly due to its limited ability to swim.
The white rhinoceros and the Indian rhinoceros are partially selective roughage herbivores. White rhinos feed mostly on short, sweet, and appetizing grasses and do not ruminate because they are monogastric. White rhinos are dependent on water and drink up to 50 liters at a time with average water consumption of 12 liters per day.
White rhinos lived in abundance alongside the indigenous people of southern Africa. The Zulus did not regard their flesh as edible and so did not hunt them. Only when white adventurers arrived with guns, and rhino hide and horns became a trade commodity, did the situation change. Animals were easily found waiting in the dry season for puddles, so some hunters killed nearly 100 in a single year.
