Adult and baby white rhinos. Adult male white rhino.
We were within 50 yards of these white rhinos. Although their eyesight is poor, rhinos have an amazing sense of smell. Although they detected our presence, these rhinos were much more interested in foraging for food and socializing.
The white rhino, or square-lipped rhino, is an endangered species and the largest land mammal next to the elephants. The prominent horn for which rhinos are so well known has been their downfall. Many animals have been killed for this hard, hair-like growth, which is revered for medicinal use in China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Singapore. The horn is also valued in North Africa and the Middle East as an ornamental dagger handle.
The white rhino once roamed much of sub-Saharan Africa, but today is on the verge of extinction due to poaching fueled by these commercial uses. Only about 11,000 white rhinos survive in the wild, and many organizations are working to protect this much loved animal.
I was fortunate to spend some time observing these amazing giants in the wild in the forested area of Zambia not too far from Victoria Falls. The "white rhino" is not necessarily white as rhinos like to roll in mud, which protects them from insect pests, and causing them to take on a ruddy coloring like the ones you see above in this image.