Etosha is one of the last places on earth where you have a genuine chance of seeing a black rhino in the wild, and the southern parts of the park near Okaukuejo and Rietfontein waterhole are the best areas. The animals are most active in the early morning and late afternoon, and at night at the floodlit waterholes.
Black rhinos differ from white rhinos in size, temperament, and habitat preference. They are smaller, noticeably more aggressive, and prefer dense bush to open grassland. Encounters at waterholes can be dramatic — a black rhino will often approach other animals with its head lowered and horn forward, causing lions and elephants alike to give way. Seeing one at close range is one of those experiences that makes the distance and expense of reaching Etosha feel entirely justified.