The southern white rhinoceros has a square snout adapted for grazing. He always carries his large head low, has a hump on his neck and two pointed ears. The two horns of the rhinoceros consist of hair-like horny fibers that originate from dermal papillae, and are cemented together to form a single horn.

Males are sedentary and territorial. They are solitary, except during the mating season, a period in which they go to the groups formed by the females with their young. During this period, the male stays with the female for between 1 and 2 days. After a gestation period of 16 months, the little rhinoceros is born, which within an hour of life is able to maintain balance and follow its mother. It will remain with the mother until it is three years old, and 4 years must pass from the birth of a calf for the female to have her second calf, which causes the birth rate to be relatively low.

The white rhinoceros is demanding in its habitat requirements. They need relatively flat land, covered with bushes and grasses. They feed on short grass, but when the dry season arrives these become scarce and they consume herbaceous plants with longer stems, such as red oats. They also need permanent pools of water to take daily mud baths to protect themselves from the heat and annoying insects. During the hours of sunshine they take refuge in the shade of trees and carry out their activity mainly at dawn and dusk.