Endangered Species: Black Rhinoceros
Christiansburg Elementary
Submitted by: Yoda Bear, Grade: 5
Christiansburg, Virginia


Black Rhinoceros
Why Study This Topic? What Was Already Known Search for Information Description of Plant or Animal Habitat Requirements
Adaptations Reasons for Endang   erment Restoration Actions What Was Learned Conclusions from Research

Why Study This Topic?

    The  reason I want to study this topic is because last year I went to Africa and saw a lot of rhinoceros.  I know they have an unique shape and form.  The way you can tell the difference between the Black rhino and the White rhino is by the shape of their upper lip.  The White Rhino has a wide lip.  One of the most interesting things about the Black rhino is that it has an interesting walk, almost a gallop.  The young are only  as tall as my knees.  I hope to learn more about the Black rhino.
 

What Was Already Known

I already knew that the Black rhino has two horns, one on the front of its nose.  When it has babies the babies are born alive. My animal eats mostly grass which is fresh.  Some can weigh up to or more than 25 tons.  I know that poachers try to kill the Rhinos just to get the horns.  They get the horns for stupid things like knife handles. They get praise just for killing a Rhino.  When they sell the products they make they get a lot of money.  Rhinos like staying by rocky places because they blend in by rocks very well.

Search for Information

I looked on the Internet for information.   I looked on a lot of search engines like Yahoo, Yahoolagins and a lot of others.  I encountered a lot of problems on my search.  I went to a search engine and said I wanted to look for the Black rhino and came up with these silly graphics.  And I went to another search engine and came up with a bar named ''the Black Rhino cafe''.    And another search engine came up with a street in Las Vegas.
 
  The Black rhino can grow up to 14 feet  long and 4.5 feet tall.  It get up to 3,900 pounds.   It is known for its big upper lip and two pointed horns.  The longest horn is measured out to be about 25 inches.  The Rhino's unique shape makes it look like a walking boulder because of its color and size.  The color of the Rhino is a dark gray or a light black and brown.   It will often take on the color of the nearby soil.
 
 

Habitat Requirements

     My animal is the Black rhino and it drinks out of local ponds and streams.  It only drinks fresh water; it can't live off of salt water.  It is an herbivore which means it only eats grass and plants from fields and plains.  In the African Savannah it gets fresh grass and water.  It is found in meadows and grasslands were there is very little shelter.  If needed the Rhino would go under a tree.  In wooded areas there are 2.5 Rhinos per sq. mi.  Male territories are generally 100 acres and will overlap female territories which can be 1500 acres.
 
 

Adaptations

    The predators of my animal is the human.  The human kills the Rhino just for the horn and let the rest go to waste.  The prey of my animal are insects and little animals like the lizard and frogs near or under the rocks it lives by.  It's natural enemy is the Human. It's features are thick skin and two horns at the end of it's nose.  The unique camouflage of the Rhino is that it can get the same color of the rock it lives by.
 

Reasons for Endangerment

    The main reason of the Black rhino's endangerment is that there are poachers.  The poachers go just for the horn.  In the fifth century, the rhino's horn was believed capable of making some poisons harmless.  In the 1970s, the rhinos population decreased dramatically.   Then, the price of oil provided Arab men with much money.  Arabian men wanted the horns for their knife handles.  This was a sign of wealth and status.  In 1990, the Black rhino's horn was worth $50,000.
 

Restoration Actions

    One of the actions taken to protect the Black rhino is that all trade in rhino horns is prohibited.  The ban on trade of the rhino horn has been very successful, but  a black market trade still continues.
    Another action that was taken is putting rhinos in refuges.  These areas are armed with guards to keep poachers away.  Still another action to prevent rhino poaching is to dehorn Rhinos returned to the wild.
    They also have tried to control breeding.  That has not been very successful.  For the future, emphasis should be placed on more research for improving the captive breeding of the Black Rhino.  More armed guards would also help by further discouraging poachers.
 
 

What Was Learned

    The Black Rhino is very big and can be very mean.  I learned that the Black Rhino is really endangered.  Poachers are the Rhinos' enemy.  The reason this is a problem is because the poachers take the horns and that usually kills the Rhinos.  Rhinos are in captivity.  The Black Rhino and many other Rhinos won't breed in captivity.  People want to protect them from poachers, so they try to protect them with armed guards.  However, they are hard to find, so they are hard to protect.  There are 10,000 to 11,000 Black Rhinos left in the world.
 
 

Conclusions From Research

    This project has made me aware of the Black Rhino's endangerment.  I learned how to research a subject by using different internet sites.  This project had made me more aware of my responsibility and that everyone in the group has responsibility.  I now know how to get information on my own.
    It is our responsibility to protect the Black Rhino from poachers by not buying any Rhino products.  We can also raise money for further captive breeding programs and to hire more armed guards.  This project has given me the confidence to research other subjects.  This experience has shown me how easy it can be to really to learn about things I didn't know

                                           

Bibliography

 http://www.birminghamzoo.com
 http://www.bagheera.com
 http://www.duke.edu
http://www.seaworld.org
http://www.lpzoo.com
http://hyperion.advanced.org
http://www.EnchancedLearning.com

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Last updated on January 25, 2000