![]() White rhinos mow the grass to a height that provides suitable habitat for these species. These species cannot survive in wooded or long-grass ecosystems. Short grass lawns are essential for the survival of certain plants, for example, short annual grasses such as Tragus berteronianus (Carrot Seed Grass) in an otherwise perennial grass sward ungulates such as wildebeest and birds such as longclaws, larks and pipits. Modify vegetation by establishing and maintaining short-grass ‘lawns.’ A rhino host carrying a plethora of ticks is so prized by oxpeckers that following the flight path of these noisy birds is often the easiest way to locate the rhinos themselves! Terrapins, too, feed on the ticks carried by rhinos when rhinos drink and wallow at waterholes. ![]() The ticks, in turn, sustain other species such as oxpeckers which eat them. The rhinoceros stomach botflies spend a large part of their lifecycle in the stomach of the rhino, and their existence is so tightly bound to that of rhinos that their numbers decline sharply when rhino numbers decline. Rhino are plagued by ectoparasites such as the rhino fly, which can be seen through binoculars by the score on the flanks of white rhino. Playing host to scores of ectoparasites, another sophisticated food chain service. Crested guineafowl digging through rhino dung Crested guineafowl and other large birds scratch through the dung treasure trove looking for both insects and, later in the season, undigested seed. This is just one example of how far the impact of rhinos stretches along the wildlife food chain. Some of these carefully buried brood chambers are a nutritious snack once the larvae are developed, and little carnivores/omnivores such as slender mongoose benefit greatly. Ithala, KZN © Alandmansonĭung beetles establish their claim to a good piece of dung by rolling it away post-haste! Once away from the dung scene, they lay their eggs in the dung ball and bury it. ![]() Ithala, KZN © Alandmanson Dung ball broken open by a predator Garreta unicolor. Once dung is deposited, it’s not long before dung beetles arrive at the party … Scarabaeus nigroaeneus on rhino dung. This dung fertilises the soil and provides livelihoods for many other species. Females wander around their home ranges depositing dung and males wander around their territories, creating dung’ middens’ (spots that are habitually used for defecation) as a territorial marking mechanism. Rhinos consume more than 50kg of vegetation per day and deposit more than 20kg of dung. Spreading nutrients and providing the basis of complex food chains These “mini dams” also generally hold water in a way that allows antelope to have a drink with less danger of getting stuck in the mud, thus making them less vulnerable to attacks by predators who often hunt at permanent water sources. Rhinos not only help keep dams and waterholes open but are also responsible for the mini ‘wallow dams’ dotted around the edge of dams and waterholes that afford species coming to drink, such as tambourine doves, some protection from predation by terrapins. A 2014 study by two scientists concluded that rhinos had a more significant impact on the topography than even elephants. Rhino wallowīy wallowing in mud puddles, they help to create natural waterholes and keep existing water holes open.Īlso, each time a rhino wallows, a considerable amount of mud is removed and, as it dries or is rubbed off, the fertile alluvial soil that accumulates in dams and natural waterholes is distributed far and wide, enriching the soil far from the wallow. Geo-forming – fundamentally reshaping the land around them over time. Rhinos are ‘keystone species’ – mega-herbivores that help shape entire ecosystems by: Unlike other keystone species such as lions and wolves that are apex predators, the rhino is a mega-herbivore that ‘significantly alters the habitat around and thus affect large numbers of other organisms’- the very definition of a keystone species. The rhino has several essential roles that few people are aware of, and this article hopes to highlight those lesser-known environmental and biological services that they provide. That is why we should fight to keep rhinos alive in our wild ecosystems. Rhinos are what we call a ‘keystone species’ – one whose presence and role within an ecosystem has a disproportionate effect on other organisms within the system. But aside from those sound enough reasons, do rhinos earn the right to stay from an ecological point of view? Of course, no species should go extinct due to man, and rhinos are iconic symbols and tourism draw-cards. But why the inordinate fuss about rhinos? Are they special enough from an ecological point of view, that ecosystems need them to be around? Most people understand that the poaching of rhinos is cruel and could, quite possibly, drive rhinos to extinction. Guest bloggers: Dr Jane Wiltshire and Dr Ian A W Macdonald
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