---
title: "White Rhinoceros"
description: "Ceratotherium simum — Mammals. The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros, is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/white-rhinoceros
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# White Rhinoceros

> Ceratotherium simum — Mammals. The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros, is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing.

- Scientific name: *Ceratotherium simum*
- Category: `mammals` (Mammals)
- Habitats: `grassland` (Fields & meadows), `savanna` (Savanna)
- iNaturalist observations: 9204
- Wikidata: [Q159918](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q159918)
- iNaturalist taxon: [43348](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/43348)

## Names

- en: White Rhinoceros
- de: Breitmaulnashorn
- es: Rinoceronte Blanco
- fr: Rhinocéros blanc
- it: Rinoceronte bianco
- nl: Witte neushoorn
- pt: Rinoceronte-branco
- pl: Nosorożec biały

## Countries with the most observations

ZA (4326), KE (1410), NA (241), UG (141), BW (120), ZW (117), SZ (112), ZM (92), RW (71), TZ (49), SN (20)

## Summary

The white rhinoceros, also known as the white rhino or square-lipped rhinoceros, is the largest extant species of rhinoceros and the most social of all rhino species, characterized by its wide mouth adapted for grazing. The species includes two subspecies with dramatically different conservation outlooks: the southern white rhinoceros, with an estimated 17,464 individuals in the wild as of the end of 2023, and the northern white rhinoceros. The northern subspecies is critically endangered and on the brink of extinction; its last known male, Sudan, died in March 2018, leaving behind only…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_rhinoceros

## Photo

![White Rhinoceros](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/white-rhinoceros/medium.jpg)

Photo: Diego Carús · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/19511198

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/white-rhinoceros?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).