Best shot of the northern white I have seen. Every time I go he is either laying down in the dirt or standing at one of the ugly feeding troughs. Kind of a wierd feeling watching an animal that you know will go extinct in your lifetime.
Just one single (and maybe simple) question ! Is this enormous horn specific for this subspecies ? Can´t remember to see a "normal" white rhino wearing such a big horn...
No, this reverse horn has nothing to do with the Northern White Rhino as such. While I have never seen one with a horn like this, I know Antwerp Zoo in Belgium had a Southern White Rhinoceros with such a horn, there was a photo of it in their 1980s guidebooks.
Thanks for this first explanation... But I was irritated as I saw the northern white rhinos of Dvur Kralove in the czech republic ! Seems as they even got this "wild" horns...
The female southern white at my zoo had a horn just like this - maybe even a bit longer (but the same downward curve). We actually had to cut the end off because it was hitting the ground when she tried to eat.
Remembering that I have been to the Wild Animal Park once, I looked up my photos and found the only one I got of this rare species (remarkable that I got any in light of that the WGSA took you past them at the speed of light, much the same as they do to you at the Bronx Zoo's Wild Asia) and it shows the two cows; one with normal horn and the other one without a horn except a stub. I assume it is this one and that it has abnormal horn growth which means that it has to be cut regulary.