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Rhinoceros - #2 of the BIG 5


Rhinoceros - #2 of the BIG 5
Photo Information
Copyright: Anna Eksteen (Miss_Piggy) Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 2285 W: 5 N: 5300] (18714)
Genre: Animals
Medium: Color
Date Taken: 2009-10-06
Categories: Mammals
Camera: Sony Cybershot DSC H9, Digital ISO 320
Exposure: f/4.5, 1/125 seconds
More Photo Info: [view]
Photo Version: Original Version, Workshop
Travelogue: Kruger NP 2009
Theme(s): Mammals of Southern Africa II, Kruger National Park 3 [view contributor(s)]
Date Submitted: 2009-11-29 7:14
Viewed: 5500
Points: 74
[Note Guidelines] Photographer's Note
White Rhinoceros / Ceratotherium simum

The rhinoceros is the 2nd species I want to share with you as part of a group of animals known as the "BIG 5" animals of Africa. In my previous posting I shared the biggest of them all, the elephant.

The BIG 5 series:
#1 The African Elephant.

White rhinos are more frequently spotted in certain regions in the Kruger National Park than in other areas. On the 1st day of our vacation, we were fortunate to see a total of 24, the 1st one just after 7 in the morning, and later on, in the vicinity of Crocodile Bridge, a large group of 10 animals. During the rest of the day, every now and again another one would pop up.

White rhino's are normally very peaceful and well behaved and the most of the times, one can get more than enough opportunities to photograph them, unlike the black rhino that is rather temperamental. We rather appreciate them to stay far away, and just watch them from a distance. In the 3 weeks we where in the park, we only saw one black rhino, and that was on the 3rd last day of our holiday. It was walking through a river, quite far from where we were and therefore the photos I took are not good enough for a posting. I have included one as a "workshop". I think the ones Loot took are of much better quality.

General Overview
Built like a battle tank, the white rhino-known as the square-lipped rhino is the second largest animal living on land, after the elephant. Yet despite its ugly awesomeness it is basic a placid creature, less irritable and more gregarious than its cousin, the black rhino. It is often found in groups of four to eight, led by a dominant bull.

A grazer, not a browser, it enjoys short grasses which, with its wide, flat mouth, it is able to crop almost to ground level. Its head is usually carried low.

In common with other rhino species, the white rhino has a penchant for mud baths. It's not simply a cosmetic indulgence: the mud traps ticks, and when it dries and falls off, the parasites are shed too.

The rhino's constant companions, the red-billed oxpecker and its rarer cousin, the yellow-billed oxpecker, also help to keep it free of ticks. In addition the birds are the rhino's portable alarm system, their hissing calls warning of approaching danger.

Like the black rhino, the white species is myopic, but makes up for the deficiency with an acute sense of smell and hearing (the ears can be rotated independently). Conversation consists of taciturn grunts and snarls as well as high-pitched squeals.

Males reach a weight between 2000-2300kg and females between 1400-1500kg.

Taken from: Animals of the Kruger Park and Lowveld - Heritage Publishing.

I hope you enjoy looking at this photo as much as I took pleasure in taking it.
jojo1984, hansh, matatur, CeltickRanger, horias, goatman04, marius-secan, roges, uleko, xTauruSx, eng55, anel, Alex99, parasbhalla, Noisette, Argus, Dis. Ac., zulfu, boreocypriensis, maurydv, tuslaw, Mikolaj, Rehanna has marked this note useful
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Critiques [Translate]

hello Anna!
belle bete! tres belle qualitée une bonne nettetée une bonne lumiere
tres bon POv
bravo pour les petits oiseaux
tres plaisant a regarder
merci
best regards
Joffrey

  • Great 
  • hansh Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 277 W: 1 N: 741] (2762)
  • [2009-11-29 7:21]

Hello Anna.

An impressive capture of this rino.
Ik looks if you where very close to it.
And with two little birds as a present makes it a lovely capture.

Gr. Hans

A powerful looking individual in fine form Anna, captured expertly and very clearly in its natural environment in lively colours, very good job indeed my friend!
Cheers,
Mehmet

hello Anna

excellent close-up photo of the White Rhinoceros,
fine POV, fine focus with excellent sharpness and details,
the camouflaged birds with the Rhinoceros are the charm of the photo,

TFS

Asbed

Hallo Anna,
this a a great capture of this massive animal.
You manged well with the exposure, we can see all details in the dark parts, the picture is also well composed with good DOF,
the Rhino stand out well from the BG.
It's a dream to meat the big 5, I hope I can realize it sometimes
in the future.
Very fine work, my friend

The winter is here now with very dark short days but we don't have snow yet and it's very warm for the season.
Best Regards
Gert

  • Great 
  • nglen Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2883 W: 30 N: 9683] (36145)
  • [2009-11-29 7:58]

Hi Anna. I thought this would be in your big 5 from Africa. You were able to take a fine side view of this fine looking animal. With the two bird on its back. Taken with good detail and natural colours. all with interesting notes. Well taken TFs.
Nick..

Hi Anna,
I like your series of the 5 biggest animals. A nice moment with the birds sitting on the body to see how gigantic it is. I have seen this animal very close in a Safari-Park in Italy crossing the road in front of our car. Wow!
Thanks and greetings
Sabine - wishnugaruda

  • Great 
  • zetu Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 967 W: 26 N: 3888] (16941)
  • [2009-11-29 8:27]

Hello Anna
Very well capture, with great details, natural colors and nice scene.
Regards
Razvan

  • Great 
  • horias Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 837 W: 58 N: 2084] (11033)
  • [2009-11-29 8:54]

Anna
What a wonderful capture this lovely rhinoceros !
Great natural colors, and the little birds is fantastic.
Congratulation1
Horia

Hello Anna,

A great capture of this magnificent White Rhino with beautiful natural coloration, sharpness & composition. Lovely POV & setting. Very nicely done & presented with informative notes. TFS & regards.

Umar

hello Anna
Great picture full of details and great sharpness
nice light with very nice colours
greeting lou

Hello Anna,
Excellent capture. Superb composition with a wonderful animal.
Very good details and sharpness.
Marius.

  • Great 
  • roges Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 957 W: 0 N: 1329] (6264)
  • [2009-11-29 9:27]

Hallo Anna,
Again a splendid catch. What is more beautiful than to see animals free and you can photograph. Very beautiful image and composition.
Have a quiet evening,
Adrian

  • Great 
  • uleko Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 3396 W: 172 N: 3310] (10940)
  • [2009-11-29 9:40]

Hello Anna,
I'm amazed at how many of this rare species you spotted on your last trip! I've seen one in captivity once in England safely enclosed in a huge park. This is a great close-up showing very fine details and colours and I love the Oxpeckers on its back!
TFS and best wishes, Ulla

its just modelling for you.. Excellent composure and the presence of couple of birds makes this picture even more interesting.. TFS

Hello Anna, lovely shot of this beautiful rhino with fine details and composition.
TFS and regards,
Deniz

  • Great 
  • eng55 Gold Star Critiquer/Silver Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 1256 W: 42 N: 1976] (5892)
  • [2009-11-29 23:46]

Hi Anna,
Wonderful capture of this Rhino.Excellent POV,lighting and exposure.There must be a lot food for two little birds:)
Have a great week!
Thanks for posting..

Wow, Anna, what a nice shot, nice position and pin sharp as usual, well done. Another way to determine the difference between a white and black rhino, with the white rhino the calf will always move in front of the mother while with the black rhino the calf will move behind the mother. The same with humans the white mother pushes its baby in front of her and the black mother carries her baby on her back!

  • Great 
  • anel Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 3053 W: 3 N: 8715] (40574)
  • [2009-11-30 3:59]

Hello Anna,
Congratulations for this most beautiful shot of the impressive White Rhinoceros. Everything here is right, composition, light-management, natural colors ans the animal shown in its natural environment. A little plus too, the two birds and the fine colors of the vegetataion.
Just great!
Thanks a lot for the note too.
Kind regards
Anne

  • Great 
  • Alex99 Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 4072 W: 133 N: 7096] (23735)
  • [2009-11-30 6:02]

Hi Anna.
Excellent presentation of the wonderful individual. Its colouration, shapes and all other details are reflected extremely well. I like natural surroundings and simply blameless composition of the image. Bravo and TFS.
Alexei.

Hello Anna,

Wonderful capture from Rhinoceros with nice details! It seems that he is posing exclusively for you :)

The colors of your subject are nicely shown and perfectly natural. The sharpness and POV are great. Great job!

best regards,
Paras

Hello Anna
another Animal of the big five, i like the very detailed view from his pofil
it's a very impressive subject taken perfectly
the two birds on his back are a nice bonus
have a good night
Jacqueline

  • Great 
  • bedri Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 111 W: 0 N: 237] (1284)
  • [2009-12-01 5:12]

Merhaba Anna,
Excellent capture. Well done, TFS..
Best regards,
Bedri..

  • Great 
  • Argus Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 5038 W: 260 N: 15594] (50626)
  • [2009-12-01 5:18]

Hello Anna,
Nice almost full frame portrait of a White Rhino taken from a classic lateral POV with excellent sharpness against a natural BG.
This fine portrait has the bonus of having three red-billed Oxpeckers.
I like the WS shot of the Black Rhino both as a contrast and as a nice view of the habitat.
Thanks for sharing No.2 of the Big Five!
Best regards,
Ivan

Hello Anna,

this animal I know only from zoo and yoy photographed in real with good pov.
Very good details and natural colours.

Gert

Primero, muchas gracias Anna por tus amables comentarios, que agradezco siempre especialmente viniendo de los buenos fotógrafos/as como tú.
Tú y yo nos diferenciamos en el tamaño de los animales que fotofrafiamos jajaja.
Tu toma, como siempre, interesante. Nos muestras unos seres que aquí solamente vemos en películas, documentales o en algún Zoológico.
Bien encuadrada y mostrando bien la belleza de este temible animal.
Un abrazo: Josep Ignasi.

Ciao Anna. Great capture stunning details and playng of light for this magnificent animal. well done.

Roberto

  • Great 
  • waylim Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Note Writer [C: 296 W: 8 N: 489] (1765)
  • [2009-12-01 17:47]

Greeting Anna,
It is such an impressive sight to see this giant animal, White Rhinoceros. I glade to say that I have seen a few of them with my own eyes in it natural habitat. Excellent sharpness and clarity, great contrast and really good definition. It is not very easy to photo the rhino due to it's largely gray tone without much variation. You did a wonderful job with nice contrast with good depth. Thanks Anna. Have a lovely day.
Way

  • Great 
  • zulfu Gold Star Critiquer [C: 685 W: 0 N: 2] (43)
  • [2009-12-01 23:49]

Hello Anna, great shot of a rhinoceros with its visitors.
TFS and G's,
Mehmet

Hi and Good Morning Anna,

An awesome capture of this beautiful unicornal rhino of the big 5 animals of S Africa in a lovely posture from wonderful lateral POV with delightful composition.
TFS and have a nice day!
Cheers,

Bayram

Ciao Anna, great capture of beautiful rinoceros, splendid sharpness, wonderful light and fine colors, very well done, ciao Silvio

Hello Anna,

This is an impressive beast, that has probably looked like this for millions of years!
A reputation for being short tempered and dangerous, but this guy seems quite peaceful hehehe...
Well framed with fine details, massive impressive..!

Greetings,
Pablo -

Ciao Anna,
a superb portrait of the White Rhinoceros taken from an ideal POV showing very well the coriaceous vigour with very good sharpness and splendid natural colours, a very pleasing composition with teh bonus of colourful birds
TFS
Best regards
Maurizio

  • Great 
  • tuslaw Gold Star Critiquer/Gold Star Workshop Editor/Gold Note Writer [C: 2754 W: 282 N: 4931] (19883)
  • [2009-12-07 7:37]

Hello Anna,
Wow!! what an array of body armor this particular guy has to carry around!! For once I'm glad they don't live in my neck of the woods, otherwise I wouldn't be as carefree to enter them as I do now.
Excellent detail and beautiful natural colors. Nicely composed with excelent DOF and great exposure. I wonder why they are called White Rhino's though, when they appear more gray in color? Perhaps whthout all the mud layers they would be more whitish in color. Oh well...just curious! Super image!
Ron

Hello Anna! Smooth guy, wonderful pose, amazing scene and scenery, nice natural colours, good exposure. Well done!

hi Anna

I have to say I rather like this picture of the rhino
the 3 birds and the mud add to the atmosphere in this picture and to the scale. It is good to see the natural environment around the rhino.

TFS
Emma

Hi Anna,
Thanx for the interesting note, and very true regarding the black ones" a personal experience". The oxpeckers , I think they are, seem quite chilled on its back.I like the tonal effect of its skin/ hide with the left over mud.
We should meet at the hide again some time !!
erwin...

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