About the Black Rhinoceros Drawing

After seeing rhinoceroses in zoos for much of my life, encountering free-ranging Black Rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) in Africa was unforgettable. Their immense physical presence was striking, but so was the sense of age, vulnerability, and endurance carried in their weathered bodies.

In Survivor, I wanted to reflect both the power of the Black Rhinoceros and its precarious place in the modern world. The broken horn, worn hide, deep folds of skin, and watchful eye suggest an animal that has endured both time and intense human pressure. Graphite allowed me to concentrate on those textures and on the contrast between strength and fragility in one of Africa’s most threatened large mammals.

Survivor is a graphite pencil wildlife drawing by Michael E. Dorcas for Tantilla Art.