Wildlife Safari Africa
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African Safari, Rhinoceros

African safari visitors always hope to see the big five animals. The big five being; lion, elephant, cape buffalo, leopard and rhinoceros.

We saw plenty of rhinoceros in Sweetwater, but our best encounter was Lake Nakuru where, at one stage we were surrounded by six black rhinoceros and seven white rhinoceros.

The rhinoceros in the two pictures below (Mount Kenya) is quite badly injured on neck and flank. Presumably involved in a very recent fight to defend her baby, lying unhurt alongside, she had huge claw marks, pouring blood from her left side and a very nasty lump out of her throat.

There are two types of rhinoceros, black and white; they cannot be distinguished from each other by colour. Either may be dark or light coloured, neither is white or black!

White rhinos have wide mouths - it is said that "white" is a mispronunciation of the original "wide". I don't know if I beleive that, but it helps as a reminder of the chief identifying feature.

Black rhino have small mouths, hook nosed, suitable for brousing - eating plants and bushes. White rhino have wide mouths, suitable for grazing.

In most other respects it is very difficult to tell white rhino apart from black rhino unless you are very close.

I found that when I got very close, identifying black from white was no longer central to my thoughts. The big horned fellow bottom right demanded - and got - right of way. And I can assure you, it was not a colour thing!!

The three best parks we visited, Amboseli National Park Sweetwater and Masai Mara.

rhinoceros lake nakuru
lake nakuru safari rhinoceros
rhinoceros fight mount kenya
rhinoceros mount kenya
rhinoceros kenya safari
white rhino kenya
All images Copyright Avery Little