southern white rhinoceros

Ceratotherium simum simum

The white rhino was almost wiped out at the beginning of the 20th century. Strict conservation measures have led to the recovery of the southern white rhino subspecies. The northern white rhino has been considered extinct in the wild since 2008. In March 2018, the last male northern white rhino "Sudan" died in the Ol Pejeta reserve.
In addition to frequent droughts, poaching is the biggest threat to the rhinos; Hunted for their horn, which is made of keratin, like our fingernails, toenails or hair. In Chinese medicine, the horn is considered an impotence treatment, which is why it is traded expensively on the black market and further spurs poaching.

Related to	Odd-toed ungulates, rhinoceroses (5 species)
Habitat	Grassland, savanna with open bush and tree vegetation
Social structure	F: mother family troops with offspring, M: have territories, solitary or in bachelor troops.
Diet	Short grasses
Weight	F: 1'400 - 2'000 kg, M: 2'000 - 2'300 kg
Shoulder height	170 - 185 cm
Mating season	All year round
Gestation time	Approx. 480 days
Litter size	1 young
Age of sexual maturity	At the age of 3.5 to 5 years
Life expectancy	Up to 50 years in human care
Utilization	Horn as a healing and impotence treatment, especially in the Asian region (poaching)
Population trend	Approx. 20'000 animals
At Zurich Zoo since	2019