Populations kept in well-guarded small sanctuaries and game ranches have expanded rapidly. The species still occurs in South Africa, Namibia, Angola, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Malawi, Zambia, Tanzania, Kenya, Botswana, and Swaziland. Black rhinoceroses now occupy a much smaller area, within which they are found in scattered pockets, many of them in parks and reserves. Conservation efforts brought the numbers up to approximately 5,600 by 2018. Rampant poaching reduced the total black rhinoceros population to some 2,400 by 1995, and the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources listed it as a critically endangered species starting in 1996.
![eastern black rhinoceros eastern black rhinoceros](https://image.freepik.com/free-photo/portrait-eastern-black-rhinoceros_322827-130.jpg)
…species of rhinoceroses are the black or prehensile-lipped rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) and the white or square-lipped rhinoceros. Four subspecies are recognized, including one from Namibia that lives in near-desert conditions. They are normally ill-tempered and unpredictable and may charge any unfamiliar sound or smell. Where water is available, drinking is regular and frequent black rhinoceroses also dig for water in dry riverbeds. Where succulent plants, such as euphorbias, are abundant in dry habitats, it can survive without flowing water. It is a selective browser, and grass plays a minor role in its diet. The black rhinoceros occupies a variety of habitats, including open plains, sparse thorn scrub, savannas, thickets, and dry forests, as well as mountain forests and moorlands at high altitudes. It stands 1.5 metres (5 feet) high at the shoulder and is 3.5 metres (11.5 feet) long. The black rhinoceros typically weighs between 700 and 1,300 kg (1,500 and 2,900 pounds) males are the same size as females.
![eastern black rhinoceros eastern black rhinoceros](https://st3.depositphotos.com/13525354/17153/i/1600/depositphotos_171539656-stock-photo-eastern-black-rhino-grazing.jpg)
![eastern black rhinoceros eastern black rhinoceros](https://live.staticflickr.com/7383/10608137664_09d615b27e_b.jpg)
In South Africa alone, we’re losing almost a rhino a day. Poaching and the illegal wildlife trade have wiped out 96% of the world’s black rhino population.
![eastern black rhinoceros eastern black rhinoceros](https://alchetron.com/cdn/eastern-black-rhinoceros-7f331e0e-8855-46e9-85d7-4e60b748ace-resize-750.jpeg)
Kelly Gomez, who is in charge of the rhino sector at the Oregon Zoo, said that, “King represents a species that’s among the most endangered on the planet.