White Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum) Fact Sheet: Distribution & Habitat

Historic distribution

• Widely distributed across Africa
• Rock art, fossil and skeletal remains found over Africa where grasslands were present, including parts of the Sahara
• More recent distribution
• During recorded history, no evidence to indicate a continuous distribution between northern and southern subspecies

Present distribution

• Reduced and patchy
• 2 disjunct populations
  • C. s. cottoni (northern white rhino)
  • Wild populations last sighted in Democratic Republic of Congo, 2008; possibly extinct
  • C. s. simum (southern white rhino) (IUCN 2012; Ferreira et al. 2015)
  • Majority of population in South Africa
  • c. 50% are in Kruger National Park
  • Populations reintroduced in Swaziland, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Botswana, Mozambique and Kenya
  • Mozambique population reported eradicated by poachers (Butler 2013)
  • Introduced population in Zambia

Grasslands also savannahs

• Prefer open areas
• Avoid closed forests, thick woody bushes, mesic areas with taller grass, and open plains without shade trees

White Rhino distribution.
Adapted from www.d-maps.com according to IUCN fact sheet. Click here or on map for detailed distribution (IUCN).

Butler (2013)
Kingdon (1997)
Emslie and Brooks (1999)
IUCN (2012)
Ferreira et al. (2015)