Lost member of West Africa

 

Common name- West African black Rhino

Scientific name- Diceros bicornis longipes

Diet- Herbivores

Height- 3 to 3.75mm

Weight- 800- 14,000kg

Lifespan- 35-40yrs 

Habitat- dry forests, open plains of West Africa as well as mountain forests and moorland at high altitudes.

Western  Black Rhino or West African black Rhino , native to Africa , was emerged about 7-8 million years ago.

Both black and white rhinoceroses are actually gray. They are different not in color but in lip shape. Male and female both are same in size approximately.Gestation lasts approximately 15 – 16 months, and mothers give birth to one calf every 2.5 – 3 years.

The last sighting of the western black Rhino was in 2006. The western black Rhino once widespread across the savannas of central - west Africa but decline due to hunting in the early 20th century. The population rebounded in the 1930s due to conservation efforts , but reversed as these waned. The population was in the hundreds by 1980 and declined to 10 by 2000. Widespread Poaching is concluded to be partly responsible for bringing the species close to extinction , along with farmers killing rhinos to defend their crops in areas close to rhino territories.

The Black Rhino was declared to be extinct in 2011. Now, no wild black rhinos remain in West Africa , according to the latest global assessment of threatened species. The last black Rhino die in 2011.