White rhino following her calf

The white rhinoceros is a grazer. It has a broad mouth carried low down, good for mowing grass. Rhino naming by colour is said to have been derived from the Afrikaans word wyd meaning wide, referring to the mouth shape, not the colour of the beast. Black and white rhinos are both grey, don’t really differ in colour.

Where the trees are fewer and the terrain more open, the grass may grow more plentiful. White rhino mothers let their calves lead in the grassland or open woodland where they spend most time. The mother follows, keeping an eye on what goes on.

Black rhinos are slightly smaller, browsing leaves off trees with their narrow mouths and hooked upper lips. Living in forested areas comes naturally to the black ones, as their food is there. They have good reason, other than pride therefore, to hold their heads up. The visibility is usually poorer here, making sense of the mother’s habit of leading her calf in case of danger approaching from the front.

Operating at shorter notice, the black rhino is then by nature twitchier; ready for every contingency, given the world it lives in. If you have to meet a rhino in the veld, pick the white one. The white rhino, having a better view of surroundings and more information processing time, is more placid. But don’t push it, the rhino may not remember all of that (www.desertusa.com).