Thursday 22nd September is World Rhino Day and we will be celebrating it from 22nd to Sunday 25th September with our magnificent rhino’s Baloo and Zimba (white rhinos) and mum and daughter Samira and Olmoti (black rhinos)

They, and we, are pretty special as we are the only zoo in the UK to have both black and white rhinos, and both species are part of the European Endangered species Program (EEP) which aims to safeguard the future of species through captive breeding.

To celebrate and recognise this special day we are having some fun activities with games, activity sheets and rhino mask and if you fancy a challenge we’re having a guess the weight of one of the black rhinos and win special up close encounter with them!

We’re also going to be fundraising for Save the Rhino and Flamingo Land’s Udzungwa Forest Project (UFP).

Here a few rhino facts ahead of the day!

• There are 5 species of rhinoceros  –  two African species including the white and black rhino, along with three Asian species  – the Indian, Javan and Sumatran rhino.
• There was around 500,000 rhinos found across Africa and Asia but today there is only around 29,000 left. This is due to high demand in poaching for their valuable horns.
• Rhinos are threatened with extinction and three out of five species are classed as critically endangered.
• Rhino horn is now more valuable than gold and is highly sought after in Asian countries where it is used in traditional medicine to ‘treat’ a variety of conditions, however their horn is made out of keratin and has no proven medical benefits.