Considering Christi and I are back under canvas, we sleep remarkably well – if not long enough. I may have mentioned this before but we are not natural campers. Indeed, outside of Africa we have never camped together and since we have been dating for 11 years I think it’s a safe bet that when we return to San Francisco any vague thoughts we have of car camping in Yosemite National Park will quickly fall away in favor of five-star treatment at the Ahwahnee hotel. Anyway I’m digressing back to fantasy land. We’re up at 5.50 am. It’s cold but clear and someone has boiled the kettle and prepared breakfast – god love ’em. It’s 6.45 am when we begin the game drive and although one can never know what wildlife will wander in front of my eager lens, Lake Nakuru is one of the few places in Africa where you stand a good chance of spotting both black rhino and white rhino.
Lake Nakuru is just beautiful this morning: acre upon acre of yellow fever trees, tall wavy savannah grass which I know is hiding a multitude of wildlife, including – ones hopes – the rhino. There’s also the impressively sheer escarpment towering over the plains, and of course, the soda lake itself – home to thousands if not millions of flamingos. We steer away from the lake this morning and focus on the favorite habitat of the rhino, just in case one of the buggers choses to show himself. You’d think it would be hard to hide an animal that weighs a ton or more, but boy is it hard work to spot these blighters. We do see plenty of buffalo, an eland (large antelope), an eviscerated zebra (ouch!), some waterbuck, and we chase some impala down a dusty track. They are none too bright these guys because instead of running into the savannah they must have run down the track for half a mile before one of them thought to hook a left!
Finally, rhinos – yippee! I barge the other passengers out of the way in my haste to photograph these titans of the African Plains.
Here are some fast facts to separate the black and white rhino should you come across one while out wandering the African savannah.
Black Rhino (Hooked-lip Rhino)
- Smaller than the white rhino. A large bull weighs around 1000 kg/2,200 lbs.
- They have a rather small hooked shaped mouth for feeding on trees and shrubs.
- The black rhinos’ natural head posture is face upward, so there is no need for it to lift its’ head when feeding off trees.
- Black rhino are often found in thick vegetation which is possibly the reason why the female will often run in front of her calf to clear a pathway.
- The black rhino is short-tempered and extremely aggressive.
- They are very solitary and seldom join up with other individuals.
White Rhino (Broad-mouthed Rhino)
- Larger than black rhino. Large bulls reaching weights of 2500 kg./5,500 lbs.
- They have a very broad flat mouth which aids in feeding off large quantities of grass.
- A white rhinos’ natural head posture faces downward as its’ mouth is always close to the ground while grazing.
- They have a very distinct hump above the shoulders as well as a very prominent fold of skin at the lower parts of the shoulders.
- Being a very social animals it is not uncommon to see 10 or 15 white rhinos moving together and sometime more.
- White rhino are normally found in very open areas such as plains.
- The calf normally runs in front of its mother, with the mother using her horn to direct the calf by tapping it on the rear.
(reference: http://southafrican-wildlife.blogspot.com/2008/10/difference-between-black-and-white.html)
Blog post by Roderick Phillips, author of Weary Heart – a gut-wrenching tale of love and test tubes.
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