How Much Does a Rhino Weigh? Sizes of All Rhino Species

Rhino weights by species

The table gives commonly cited adult weights for wild rhinos. Figures vary between sources because few rhinos are ever weighed on a scale; many weights come from zoo animals or from animals weighed during capture.

White rhino: the heaviest rhino

The white rhino is the largest of the five species and, after the three elephant species, the heaviest land animal alive. Bulls usually weigh about 2,000–2,300 kg (4,400–5,100 lb) and cows about 1,600–1,700 kg (3,500–3,750 lb). A big bull can stand about 1.8 m (6 ft) at the shoulder and measure 4 m (13 ft) from nose to rump, plus a tail of about 70 cm (28 in).

The largest weights considered reliable are around 3,600 kg (7,900 lb). Older books sometimes quote 4,500 kg (9,900 lb), but no such animal has been verified.

Much of that weight is in the head and front half of the body. The white rhino’s huge head, carried low as it grazes, is supported by a hump of muscle and ligament on the neck.

Greater one-horned rhino: a close second

The greater one-horned rhino of India and Nepal, also called the Indian rhino, is nearly as large as the white rhino. Bulls average roughly 2,100–2,200 kg (4,600–4,850 lb) and cows about 1,600 kg (3,500 lb). Some sources give bulls up to 2,500–3,000 kg (5,500–6,600 lb), and the largest reported individual weighed around 4,000 kg (8,800 lb), though such extreme figures are hard to confirm. Its thick, folded skin gives it an armored look that makes it seem even bigger.

Black rhino: smaller but tougher-tempered

The black rhino is clearly smaller than the white rhino. Adults usually weigh 800–1,400 kg (1,800–3,100 lb), about half to two-thirds the weight of a white rhino, and stand 1.3–1.8 m (4.3–5.9 ft) at the shoulder. Females are a little smaller than males. Unusually large bulls have been reported heavier, but these figures are not well verified. What it lacks in size, the black rhino makes up for in temper: it is the more likely of the two African species to charge.

Javan and Sumatran rhinos

The Javan rhino is similar in shape to the greater one-horned rhino but smaller, closer in size to a black rhino. Because only about 50 survive in a dense forest reserve and none live in zoos, no one has ever weighed a series of adults. Published figures range from about 900 to 2,300 kg (2,000–5,100 lb), which shows how uncertain they are.

The Sumatran rhino is the smallest rhino. Adults stand about 1.1–1.45 m (3.7–4.8 ft) at the shoulder and usually weigh 500–800 kg (1,100–1,760 lb), about as much as a large horse or a small car. It is also the only living rhino with a noticeable coat of reddish-brown hair.

How heavy are baby rhinos?

Rhino calves are big babies but small compared with their mothers, usually less than 4% of her weight:

• White rhino calf: about 40–65 kg (88–143 lb) at birth
• Black rhino calf: about 35–50 kg (77–110 lb) at birth

Calves are born after a pregnancy of about 15–16 months. They gain weight quickly on milk, start eating plants within a few weeks, and are not fully grown until they are several years old. Bulls keep putting on weight for longer than cows.

How rhinos compare with other heavy animals

So a white rhino weighs about as much as a large car or a pickup truck, while an elephant weighs two or three times more. The hippo comes close, and the heaviest hippo bulls overlap with white rhinos; see how much does a hippo weigh. For the giants of land and sea, see largest animals in the world.

Why are rhinos so heavy?

Rhinos are megaherbivores: plant-eaters so big that adults have almost no natural predators. A large body can digest huge amounts of tough, low-quality grass and leaves, because food spends longer in the gut, and it holds heat and water well in hot, dry places. The cost is that rhinos breed slowly, with one calf every two to four years, which is why poaching hits them so hard.