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As protection efforts declined over the years, so did the number of western black rhinos.

The western black rhinoceros was heavily hunted in the beginning of the 20th century, but the population rose in the 1930s after preservation actions were taken. However, other subspecies were introduced again into Botswana, Eswatini, Malawi, and Zambia.

The Western subspecies of the Black Rhino was last recorded in Cameroon but is now considered to be extinct. The Black Rhino's most abundant population was found in South Africa and Zimbabwe, with a smaller population found in southern Tanzania. There were several subspecies found in the western and southern countries of Tanzania through Zambia, Zimbabwe and Mozambique, to the northern and north-western and north-eastern parts of South Africa. The native countries of the black rhino included Angola, Botswana, Cameroon, Chad, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. The black rhino, of which the western black rhinoceros is a subspecies, was most commonly located in several countries towards the southeast region of the continent of Africa. Like most black rhinos, they are believed to have been nearsighted and would often rely on local birds, such as the red-billed oxpecker, to help them detect incoming threats. However, this belief has no grounding in scientific fact. Many people believe their horns held medicinal value, which led to heavy poaching. They inhabited much of sub-Saharan Africa. During the hottest parts of the day, they slept or wallowed. During the morning or evening, they would browse for food. Like all Black Rhinos, they were browsers, and their common diet included leafy plants and shoots around their habitat. The western black rhinoceros is one of three subspecies of the black rhinoceros to become extinct in historical times, the other two being the southern black rhinoceros and the north-eastern black rhinoceros. The population was first discovered in Southwest Chad, Central African Republic (CAR), North Cameroon, and Northeast Nigeria. Other distinct features of the western black rhino included the square based horn, first mandibular premolar retained in the adults, simple formed crochet of the maxillary premolar, and premolars commonly possessed crista. This refers to the subspecies’ long distal limb segment, one of many special characteristics of the subspecies.

The word “ longipes” is of Latin origin, combining longus (“far, long”) and pēs (“foot”). This subspecies was named Diceros bicornis longipes by Ludwig Zukowsky in 1949. The western black rhinoceros resided primarily in Cameroon, but surveys since 2006 have failed to locate any individuals. It was once widespread in the savanna of sub-Saharan Africa, but its numbers declined due to poaching.

The western black rhinoceros was believed to have been genetically different from other rhino subspecies. It was declared extinct by the IUCN in 2011. The western black rhinoceros ( Diceros bicornis longipes) or West African black rhinoceros is an extinct subspecies of the black rhinoceros.