What Do Rhinos Eat?

The general diet of white rhino species includes short grasses and bush covers. Their broad lips are instrumental in this kind of diet. They also eat stems, seeds, grains, wood bark, nuts, pollen, flowers, and sap.

• The white rhino is the largest of all the rhino species, and it has two subspecies, the northern white rhino, and its southern counterpart.
• The white rhino is native to Africa.
• White rhinos can average weight of about 4 tons. White rhinos are notable for their wide squared upper lips.
• Both species inhabit grassland and savannah areas.

The black rhino species feeds mostly on trees and bushes.

• The black rhino is the other half of the rhino species native to Africa.
• It is notable or its unique upper lip, which is pointed.
• This species inhabits a vast range of habitats, including deserts, grasslands, open plains, mountain forests, high altitude moors, and dry forests.

The Indian Rhinos are mainly grazers, feeding on tall grass. It also feeds on farm crops, fruits, and leaves.

• This species is found primarily in Nepal and India.
• The Indian rhino has only one horn. It mostly inhabits shrublands and grasslands.

The Javan rhino species mainly feeds on twigs, leaves, sap, and shoots.

• Found in only in Indonesia, the Javan rhino is critically endangered.
• This species inhabits mangroves, forests, montane shrubs, and mountainous regions.

The Sumatran Rhino also feeds on fruits, bark, leaves, and twigs.

• The Sumatran rhinos are the smallest of all the rhino species, and it is also critically endangered.
• This species has two horns and is found in Asia.
• The Sumatran rhino inhabits dense subtropical and tropical forests.

Rhinos do not hunt; they are herbivores; feeding primarily on plant matter.

Rhinos can be described as both nocturnal and diurnal.

• For instance, the black rhino is mostly diurnal and will often be active and eat during the day.
• This species has been noted to be nocturnal (either partially or fully) when living in areas of high persecution.
• The Javan and Indian rhinoceros also display diurnal activity.
• The white rhino is partly nocturnal, and so it can, at times, be found eating at night.

Rhinos are enormous animals, and they must eat vast amounts of food to sustain themselves.

• The white rhino spends about half of its awake hours eating.
• White rhinos must eat as much and as often as they require to realize the daily threshold of 120 pounds of grass.
• Black rhinos, on the other hand, require a much lesser amount of food (compared to the white rhinos) per day.
• Animal Diversity Web records the daily intake required by rhinos to be about 23.6 kg.

Adult rhinoceros have no any other natural predator except for humans who hunt them for their precious horns.

• Younger rhinos (especially of the black rhino species) who have strayed from their mothers are vulnerable to predation by tigers, lions and spotted hyenas, especially at night.
• This timing works well for a predator, given that rhinos have poor eyesight at night.

Rhinos play a small role in the animal food chain.

• Though challenging to hunt, they provide a source of nutrition to organisms that prey on them like lions, humans, and the spotted hyenas.