Keepers and guests celebrate World Rhino Day • Folly Farm

World rhino day celebrations help to raise vital funds for Save the Rhino charity.

Our brilliant keepers organised an array of activities for guests to enjoy last Saturday to celebrate world rhino day and helped one of our conservation partners, Save the Rhino in the process!

In the run up to the day’s celebrations we also ran a Facebook competition to win an exclusive ‘behind the scenes’ tour of our rhino house and meet our two eastern black rhinos, Manyara and Nkosi, so a big congratulations to lucky winner Jo Elisha.

Guests enjoyed taking part in games such as ‘Hoop the Horn’, getting creative painting their own rhino masterpieces and enjoying information displays and talks put on by the keepers. The aim? Well, what better way to raise awareness and much needed funds than celebrating these beautiful animals at our own Kifaru Reserve rhino enclosure!

Along with our own donation of £1000, our generous guests helped to raise £80 on the day – all of which is going to Save the Rhino’s International Dog Squad campaign. The donation will help towards the handler and dog teams in four wildlife conservancies in Kenya to protect black and white rhinos.

Josephine Gibson from Save the Rhino said:

“There are huge threats facing Kenyan rhinos driven by the increasing demand for illegal rhino horn in some countries in East Asia. The tracker dogs have an incredible sense of smell and can cover huge distances over difficult terrain. Handlers will find a footprint, obtain a scent, and the dogs can detect illegal substances such as rhino horn, guns or ammunition.”

She continued,

“100% of Folly Farm’s donation will help with the Rhino Dog Squad campaign, which is raising funds to train more dogs, provide essential equipment and ensure that the dogs continue to receive the best ongoing care.”

With fewer than 650 eastern black rhinos left in the wild, eastern black rhinos are classed as critically endangered.

Our very own rhino keeper Jack, said:

“We’re committed to conservation and support a number of charities. We’re proud to make this donation which will help train dogs and dog handlers as they play a vital role in protecting rhinos in the wild.”

We want to ensure rhinos are around for many more years to come and this can only be achieved with your help – so a big, big thank you to those who took part in our world rhino day celebrations and for helping support our conservation partners. You’re all amazing!

World rhino day celebrations help to raise vital funds for Save the Rhino charity.

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