10 Difference Between White and Black Rhino (With Table)

White and black rhinos are two species of rhino exclusively found in Africa. The types of species have a gray color. Do not be fooled that a white rhino has to have a white color. The word “white” came from a mistranslation from the Afrikaans language “weird” to indicate the wide lip possessed by the white rhinos as opposed to black rhinos.

The main difference between white and black rhinos is the shape of the lips. This is the easiest way to distinguish the two types of rhinos.

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Comparison Table (White vs Black rhino)

Characteristics	White Rhino	Black Rhino
Shape of lips	They have flat and broad lips.	They have pointed lip with a sharp hook.
What they feed on	They feed on grass.	They feed on leaves and branches.
Body shape	Their body is long, imponent, and barrel-shaped.	Their body is shorter, studied, and more compact.
Head	They tend to keep their head low.	They lift their heads high.
Ears	The ears are tubular and very long.	They have smaller and rounded ears.
Horn length	They have a longer front horn and a much shorter second horn.	They have shorter front horns and the second one is much shorter.
Habitat	They are found in grasslands and fields.	Mostly spotted in thickets and dense brush.
Behavior	They are not aggressive.	They are more aggressive and inquisitive.
Dung	It is purely made of grass.	The dung has twigs and branches.

What is a White Rhino?

The white rhino is one of the rhino species that has broad and flat lips. This is the main feature that makes it different from the black rhino. The lips are made that way because of what they feed on. They feed on grass and the shape of the lips enables it makes it easier to grip and tear the grass.

As they are grazers, they tend to keep their heads low as most of the time they have to bend and eat the grass on the ground hence developing that position of the head. They are the second-largest mammals after the elephant. Their body is long, imponent, and barrel-shaped.

However, the species is extinct. There are two types of white rhinos. That is the Southern and Northern white rhinos. The Northern white rhinos have been killed. As of now, there are only two females left after the male one was killed in 2018.

What is Black Rhino?

Black rhinos are one of the species of rhinos. They have pointed tips with sharp hooks. This results from what they feed on. Black rhinos feed on leaves and branches. This is to enable them to grab and hold leaves on the trees.

The species was extinct but it has made it come back and now the numbers are around 5000 but it is considered an endangered species. They are comparatively smaller compared to white rhinos. Their bodies are shorter, studier, and more compact.

They lift their heads high as they have to feed on leaves and branches that are on top of the trees. They are mostly spotted in thickets and dense brush as they mainly get their food from there. As they feed on leaves and branches, their dung mainly is composed of what they feed on.

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Main Differences between White and Black Rhino

White rhinos have broad and flat lips while black rhinos have pointed lips with hooks.
White rhinos feed on the grass while black rhinos feed on leaves and branches.
White rhinos have long, imponent, and barrel-shaped body while black rhino has shorter, studied, and more compact body.
White rhino keeps its head low in order to feed on the grass on the ground while black rhino has to keep its head high in order to feed on leaves and branches.
The white rhino has tubular and very long ears while the black rhino has small and round ears.
The white rhino is found in grasslands and fields while black rhinos are found in thickets and dense brush.

Similarities between White and Black Rhino

They are all species of rhinoceros.
They both feed on plant matter.
Both are endangered species.
Both are found in Africa.

In Conclusion

White and black rhinos are species of rhinos found in Africa. They are all herbivores as they feed on plant matter. Both species are extinct as they are being hunted for their horns. The two are completely different from each other. The main feature that makes white rhino to be different from black rhino is the shape of their lips.

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