Can black and white rhinos crossbreed? How about Indian and African elephants?
Black Rhino (Hooked-lip Rhino) Smaller than the white rhino. A large bull weighs around 1000 kg. They have a rather small hooked shaped mouth for feeding on trees and shrubs. The black rhinos’ natural head posture is face upward, so there is no need for it to lift its’ head when feeding off trees. Black rhino are often found in thick vegetation which is possibly the reason why the female will often run in front of her calf to clear a pathway. The black rhino is short tempered and extremely aggressive compared to the white rhino. They are very solitary and seldom join up with other individuals. White Rhino (Broad-mouthed Rhino) Larger than black rhino. Large bulls reaching weights of 2500 kg.They have a very broad flat mouth which aids in feeding off large quantities of grass. A white rhinos’ natural head posture faces downward so its’ mouth is always close to the ground while grazing. They have a very distinct hump above the shoulders as well as a very prominent fold of skin at the low
Although successful hybridisation between African and Asian Elephant species is highly unlikely in the wild, in 1978 at Chester Zoo, an Asian elephant cow gave birth to a hybrid calf sired by an African elephant bull (the old terms are used here as these events pre-date the current classifications). “Motty”, the resulting hybrid male calf, had an African elephant’s cheeks, their ears (large with pointed lobes) and legs (longer and slimmer), but the toenail numbers, (5 for each front foot, 4 hind) and the single trunk finger of an Asian elephant. His wrinkled trunk was like that of an African elephant. His forehead was sloping with one dome and two smaller domes behind it. The body was African in type, but had an Asian-type centre hump and an African-type rear hump. The calf died of infection 12 days later. It is preserved as a mounted specimen at the British Natural History Museum, London. There are unconfirmed rumours of three other hybrid elephants born in zoos or circuses; all are s
