Keepers Celebrate World Rhino Day – 22-09-11
Aspinall Foundation zoo keepers at the Port Lympne Wild Animal Park had a great time yesterday as they celebrated World Rhino Day. The park, along with it’s sister area in Canterbury, is home to 17 black rhinos, giving it the mantle of most successful breeding record of the species in Europe!
World Rhino Day has been specially set up to help bring to the world’s attention the plight of five critically endangered species of rhino –
- Black
- White
- Sumatran
- Javan
- Indian
With only an estimated 3000 black rhinos in the wild, the breed that call Port Lympne home were given special treats by their keepers to mark World Rhino Day.
Animal Director at Port Lympne, Adrian Harland, said –
I am very proud of our rhino breeding record and the keepers who helped make this possible. The need to protect this species is great – particularly now the cost of rhino horn is soaring. Rhino horn is so desirable that thieves have stolen horns, used for education purposes from zoos in the past. To prevent this happening we keep our rhino horn locked in a safe – we also have patrols on a nightly basis to ensure that our rhino and the other endangered animals in our care are protected. Days like this are a real help in raising awareness around the world, it is worrying to think that in a few years time some species of rhino may be extinct.
Rhinoceros in the wild are most under threat from poaching, as the increase of the value of rhino horn continues to rise. The horn is highly sought after in some countries for medical reasons, though it has never been proven that there are any medicinal properties within the horn. Hopefully this barbaric trade will soon be stopped, before it’s too late.