During the past few months our guests have been lucky enough to view an above average number of White Rhino (Ceratotherium simum) frequenting our property.

Usually, we observe a myriad of different aspects of Rhinoceros daily life, feeding on their staple diet of grass, snoozing in the warm winter sun, playful calves or hungry ones suckling from their mothers, young males flexing their muscles within a bachelor herd and adult males patrolling and scent marking the boundaries of their territory. 

This week, however, one of our game drive vehicles witnessed an extremely rare event … a mating pair of White Rhino!

Field guide, Landon Eades, was viewing a small group of White Rhino consisting of two fairly young males and a female.  This is a fairly common grouping to come across while a female is in heat as territorial males will often follow the nomadic females while they pass through their domain, to check up on socializing or mating opportunities.

Suddenly, one of the males placed his head on the back of the female, and gradually mounted his 2,000 kg body weight on top of her!  They mated for about 30 minutes, which is a typical time frame of a White Rhino copulation which usually lasts between 30 to 45 minutes.  Such a long duration increases the chance that a female conceive after a single copulation, which is then followed by a 15 month gestation period.  Additionally, they must give their full attention to raising the calf until it is mature enough to survive on its own.  Therefore, a female White Rhino will only mate once every 5-7 years, making this event extremely rare to witness for both our guests as well as the Field guides.

This Journal Entry was posted on Monday, 19 July 2010 at 12:33 am.