Also known as the Square-lipped or Wide-lipped Rhino, these giants are actually named for their wide lips, perfectly adapted for grazing on the short grasses of the African savannahs that they call home. Early English settlers misinterpreted the Afrikaans word ‘wyd’ for ‘white’ - it actually means ‘wide’! The smaller, less social, browsing Black Rhinos were then named in opposition to their larger counterparts - in reality both species are grey!

A group of rhinos is referred to as a 'crash'. The only social species of rhino, White Rhinos typically aggregate in small herds of 5-10 individuals, consisting of dominant females and juvenile calves. Males are generally solitary unless a female in oestrus enters his territory.

White Rhinos spend half the day eating and the other half snoozing. As partially selective roughage herbivores, they eat short grasses, bushes, fruit, stems, seeds, nuts, grains, wood bark, pollen, flowers and even sap. One rhino can consume up to 55 kilograms of food in a single day, which sounds like a lot, but when you consider they can weigh up to 2,700, it's only a small fraction of their size!

White Rhinos have poor eyesight, but a very sharp sense of hearing and smell. When threatened, they get aggressive and can charge at speeds of up to 50 kilometres per hour!

There are two subspecies of White Rhino: the Southern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) and the Northern White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum cottoni). Sadly, with only two Northern White Rhinos left in the world - both female - that subspecies is considered functionally extinct after the last surviving male, a bull named Sudan died in 2018.

Like all rhinoceros species, the main threat to the remaining Southern White Rhino population is illegal hunting/poaching to supply the illegal international rhino horn trade. Rhinos are poached for their keratin horn which is used in traditional medicines, even though it is made as the same material as human hair and fingernails and is scientifically proven to have no medicinal benefit. The only use for a rhino horn is on the head of the animal who grew it.

Human expansion is also reducing the habitat available for White Rhinos, increasing human-wildlife conflict.

Southern White Rhinos were thought to be extinct in the late 19th century, but in 1895 a small population of fewer than 100 individuals was discovered in Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa.

By the end of 2024, reported estimates recorded nearly 16,000 White Rhinos in Africa, a significant increase from the previous century, but a decline of 11.2% since 2023. Southern White Rhinos are classified as Near Threatened - the only one of the five surviving rhino species that are not endangered.

You can meet our Giraffe at Taronga Zoo Sydney and Taronga Western Plains Zoo Dubbo.

Taronga imported the first Southern White Rhinoceros into Australia in 1980, and was the first institution to successfully breed this species as part of the Australasian breeding program. Since then Taronga Western Plains Zoo has bred 19 calves. The most recent arrival was a male calf, Jabulani, born to mum Mopani in June 2023. 

Each White Rhino calf that is born into the program is crucial in serving as an ambassador for their wild cousins in Africa, and safe-guarding the species against extinction. 

Taronga is a proud founding member of the International Rhino Foundation (IRF) which coordinates global rhino conservation. Through the IRF Taronga actively supports conservation efforts for wild rhinos in Africa, Indonesia and India, providing funds and support for anti-poaching and wildlife protection units, habitat protection and restoration. Taronga also provides expertise in rhino veterinary care and reproduction.

Find out more