A rhino thought to have had the largest family in East Africa has died at the age of 43 in Tanzania.
Rajabu, an eastern black rhino, was first sighted in the Ngorongoro conservation area in 1979.
It roamed the Ngorongoro area freely for more than 14 years before moving to the Serengeti National Park.
The rhino is said to have died of old age.
It had a large family and was said to have been one of the most productive male rhinos in Tanzania.
“Rajabu is no more…He has gone but behind he left a very huge and stable family. He had been aggressive and would fight any animal trying to attack him,” Pascal Shelutete, from the Ngorongoro Conservation Authority, told the BBC.
Rajabu’s father, John, died seven years ago from an undisclosed sickness.
In the wild, rhinos typically live up to between 37 and 43 years, or up to 50 years in captivity.
The eastern black rhino is listed as critically endangered. Its numbers are dangerously low because the animals are often illegally killed for their horn. BBC