The keratin in rhino horn is sold on the black market and in order for poachers to take a rhino horn, the rhino is killed. Populations of black rhino have been decimated over recent years due to loss of habitat and rhino horn poaching. It is the smaller of the two African species and typically found in Kenya, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Botswana and Malawi. They tend to wander smaller home ranges as long as there are woody plants and waterholes nearby. Far more shy, secretive, and aggressive than the white rhino, the black rhino can be more difficult to track and spot. The African black rhino is an herbivore grazer and is often found in the thick bush of the savannas.
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There are a number of theories as to why the black rhino is called ‘black’ but two of the most common are that the prehensile upper lip has a type of beak formation and this has been translated to ‘black’ and perhaps the more common theory is that is that the English called it black as it was opposite to white! The black rhino is also known as the hook-lipped rhino and include four subspecies:
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In the same way that the white rhino is not white, the black rhino is not actually black. The black rhinoceros (scientific name: Diceros bicornis ) is one of the two rhino species found in Africa.