🦏White rhinoceros

Ceratotherium simum (Burchell, 1817)

The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros, is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing. The species includes two subspecies with dramatically different conservation outlooks: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 17,464 individuals in the wild as of the end of 2023, and the northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies is critically endangered and on the brink of extinction; its last known male, Sudan, died in March 2018, leaving behind only two females. Both subspecies have faced significant threats, primarily from poaching for their horns and habitat loss, which contribute to the species' overall conservation status of Near Threatened. White rhinoceros can run up to 40 mph (64 km/h) for very short bursts. They can maintain speeds of around 30–31 mph (48–50 km/h) for a good amount of time, and they have good stamina.

Text: Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0.

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452

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Measurements

vs you

≈ 36× your weight

Also called

Grass Rhinoceros, Northern White Rhinoceros, Southern Square-lipped Rhinoceros, Southern White Rhinoceros, Square-lipped Rhinoceros

Conservation status

NTNear threatened

IUCN Red List assessment, 2020.

Population trendDecreasing

Key measurements

Body mass: 2,230 kg
Body length: 3.39 m
Shoulder height: 1.78 m
Top speed: 24 km/h
Bite force: not recorded
Maximum lifespan: 50 years

All measurements ↓

Facts and figures

Everything we know about the White rhinoceros

Typical adult figures. Where a value is an estimate rather than a measurement, it says so.

Body mass

2,230 kg

COMBINE

Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Figures vary

2,175 kgAnAgeAnAge build 15, 2023-07-03 (HAGR)data quality: high

Body length

3.39 m

COMBINE

Details ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0

Shoulder height

1.78 m1.71–1.85 m · typical range

Details ↓

n=4; sex not stated. Value is the midpoint.

Source: Groves 1972, Mammalian Species 8, p.1 · see citation

Top speed

24 km/h

Details ↓

Sprint over a short distance, not a sustained pace. Published figures vary: 24.36 and 25.0 against Christiansen's 39.99 km/h. No white rhino has ever been properly timed.

Source: Bejan & Marden 2006, J Exp Biol 209:238, Garland 1983, J Zool 199:157 and Christiansen 2002, Zool J Linn Soc 136:685; compiled in Hirt et al. 2017, Nat Ecol Evol 1:1116, Supplementary Data · see citation

Maximum lifespan

50 years

COMBINE

Other figures ↓

Source: COMBINE · v1 (Soria et al. 2021) · CC BY 4.0