![]() They use their horns to fight over territory and females, to defend themselves against predators such as lions and hyenas, and to dig in the ground for mineral salt. White rhinos have the largest horns of any rhinoceros species, measuring 18 to 48 inches (46 to 122 centimeters) in length. Northern white rhinoceroses have short legs, broad ears, and two horns on their snout (rhinoceros means "horn- nosed"). ![]() Despite its large size, the northern white rhinoceros can gallop as fast as 25 miles per hour (40 kilometers per hour). The animal may weigh between 5,000 and 8,000 pounds (2,270 and 3,630 kilograms). Its tail measures 20 to 28 inches (51 to 71 centimeters) long. The second largest land mammal (only elephants are larger), an average northern white rhinoceros has a head and body length of 12 to 13 feet (3.7 to 4 meters) and stands 5 to 6.5 feet (1.5 to 2 meters) tall at its shoulder. The northern white rhinoceros has a large, square-shaped mouth that allows it to graze on short grass. The most common of all rhinos, its population numbers about 7,500. The southern white rhinoceros is found in South Africa, Swaziland, Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Two subspecies of white rhinoceroses exist in Africa: the southern white rhinoceros and the northern white rhinoceros. The white rhinoceros is not actually white but light gray in color. However, the word weit was mistranslated as "white," and so the animal is now known as the white rhinoceros. The animal derives its common name from the Afrikaans (language of white South Africans of Dutch descent) word weit, meaning "wide." The reference is to the animal's wide snout. The northern white rhinoceros is also called the northern square-lipped rhinoceros. Range: Congo, Sudan Description and biology ![]() Status: Near threatened (listed along with southern white rhinoceros) IUCN Endangered, ESA
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