Western Black Rhinoceros

Diceros bicornis longipes

Sad news has been spreading around the animal world this week. The Western Black Rhinoceros, a subspecies of the Black Rhinoceros, has been officially declared extinct.

The population has been on the decline for over a century, due to poaching and lack of government conservation effort. Some conservation measures were put into place decades ago, but they eventually disappeared, along with the Rhino numbers. But 2000 it was estimated that only 10 survived.

The Western Black Rhino could soon be joined by two other Rhinoceros species that are also on the brink of extinction. Illegal poaching has long brought tragedy to these large mammals.

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IUCN Status : Extinct

Location : Central Africa
Size : Height up to 5.5ft (1.7m), Weight up to 2,900lbs (1,300kg)

Classification : Phylum : Chordata -- Class : Mammalia -- Order : Perissodactyla
Family : Rhinocerotidae -- Genus : Diceros -- Species : D. bicornis -- Subspecies : D. b. longipes