 Reference Base  The mammals of the southern African subregion, new edition |
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| Location: |
World |
| Subject: |
Ecology - Food |
| Species: |
Black Rhino |
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They have a simple stomach, and digestion of herbage takes place mainly in the voluminous sacculated caecum where most fermentation takes place (Clemens & Maloiy, 1982). They browse, manoeuvering food into their mouths with the aid of the prehensile upper lip, biting shoots off with the premolar teeth and grinding the food in the massive molar teet'n. They will push over higher growth to obtain edible parts. Sticks and thorns are included in the diet, different parts of different plants being utilised. In some cases only the outer tips of the shoots are taken, in others the twigs as well. Small forbs which grow low on the ground are also eaten and small quantities of grass are taken at certain times of the year, usually during the wet season (Moss, 1976). They are selective feeders and generally reject dry plant material (Goddard, 1968).
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