The White or more properly Square-lipped Rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simim) is the largest living rhinoceros species. Male White Rhinos average about 2,300 kg (5,070 lb) and the smaller females weigh around 1,700 kg (3,750 lb).

The name White Rhinoceros is probably a corruption of the Dutch word for ‘wide’ – referring to the wide square mouth adapted for grazing short grasses. Their skin is grey, but also reflects the colour of the soil, so they often appear reddish-brown in areas with red soil.
This male White Rhinoceros was waiting to enter the shallow waterhole on a hot January day in Kruger Park. He has Yellow-billed Oxpeckers on his head and neck – with one investigating a nostril! Oxpeckers visit large animals in search of their prey – mostly ticks and other parasites as well as flying insects and blood from wounds on their host.