Gentle Giants

 My original plan for today was to write a joint post covering both hippos and rhinos but the news out of Africa, recently released, that 2014 was the worst year in many for poaching of these incredible gentle giants, made me change my mind. So this post is dedicated to the magnificent white rhinos of South Africa.

The white rhino differs from the black rhino not in color, but in size and the shape of its head. One train of thought is that the early English visitors to Africa misunderstood the Dutch name for the animals that included the word "wijd"or wide, referring to the shape of the animal's mouth. The name white rhinoceros stuck and so when a second species was discovered it was named black rhino in order to distinguish the two.

There are two classifications of white rhinos: Southern and Northern. Northern white rhinos are on the very brink of extinction with only a handful left. More bad news this week reported the death of one of the last two remaining fertile males, making continuation of the species almost impossible.

The southern white rhinos have had much more success but are under constant threat from poachers after their horns. The horns, which are made of keratin - basically the same material as human fingernails - sell on the black market for a higher price than gold!

On our first evening game drive we left the small group of lions at dusk. As we headed up a hill to make our way back to camp we suddenly spotted a mother and baby white rhinoceros feeding on the grass of the plains. The low light combined with their constant movement meant getting a sharp image was a challenge but I did capture a few, including one (top) that has both animals in the shot. The second shot, to the right, shows just the baby as it scrounged around for the best grass. It was easy to see how these animals could fall prey to poachers as they seemed totally unconcerned by our close proximity.

Mama stayed fairly close to her baby most of the time.

 It was tough to get a shot with the animal's head out of the grass but eventually mama did raise up for just a second.

This red-billed oxpecker started  working at the rhinos nose and slowly made its way up the head and onto the animal's back, picking off insects as it went.

 On day three we came across this massive, mud-coated male rhino (above) at a watering hole. The guide explained that the animal was exercising another method of insect - particularly tick - extraction. If you look at his sides you can see streaks where he has rubbed against a stump, knocking off mud and with it, the ticks that were clinging to his thick hide. The guide took us to a mud covered stump where he was able to pick out several fat ticks, still wriggling.

 On our way back to camp for lunch we came across this duo lounging in a dried up mud hole. This image is actually huge as it is a two shot panorama. I can't wait to print it as a large canvas!