Blair Drummond Safari Park and Edinburgh Zoo to celebrate World Rhino Day

Bonnie, a baby White Rhino, enjoys a facial mudpack with her mum Dorothy in preparation for her first birthday party at Blair Drummond Safari Park. (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

FRIDAY 22nd September is World Rhino Day.

To celebrate, staff at Blair Drummond Safari Park are preparing to host a rhino-themed weekend, which will help to raise funds for OSCAP (Outraged South African Citizens Against Poaching).

One rhino in particular has reason to celebrate, as her first birthday is approaching.

Baby white rhino Bonnie was pampered with a facial mudpack, which not only keeps Bonnie’s skin in tip-top condition but it allows her keepers at at the park to give her a close veterinary inspection.

Bonnie, who turns one on 27th September, lives at the park with mum Dorothy and dad Graeme. (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Bonnie’s birth was hailed as an important step in the drive to save the species from extinction.

Keeper Graeme Alexander said: “She’s been doing really well. She’s a firm favourite with all the visitors and the staff.

“She loves to come over and get her mudpacks on, they really enjoy getting their mudbaths on a regular basis.

Bonnie, a baby White Rhino, is treated to a facial mudpack by Rhino keeper Graeme Alexander in preparation for her first birthday party at Blair Drummond Safari Park. (Andrew Milligan/PA Wire)

Bonnie was born at the park near Stirling on September 27 last year after an epic 16-month pregnancy.

She was the fifth rhino calf to be born at the park to mother Dot and father Graham, both 17.

Southern white rhinos, native to the south of Africa, are currently listed as near-threatened on the IUCN red list of endangered species.

Keepers say poaching continues to be an ongoing problem in Africa, with around 16,000 animals now believed to remain in the wild.

Meanwhile, Staff at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo are celebrating World Rhino Day on Saturday 23 September by helping to raise money for an enormous set of scales.

Across the zoo, activities will be taking place to raise money for future developments to the rhino enclosure – including a bespoke set of rhino scales – as well as raising awareness of the plight of rhinos in the wild and important conservation work going on around the globe.

Phoebe Dowens, Hoofstock Keeper at RZSS Edinburgh Zoo said: “With a fully-grown rhino weighing in at around 2.5 tonnes, a normal set of scales just isn’t an option. If we are successful in raising the £600 needed to fund the scales, we will be able to get an up-to-date picture of a rhino’s weight in an instant, helping us closely monitor the health and well-being of the animals in our care.

“If you’re in the area, come along and take part in a whole range of World Rhino Day activities, or see if you can guess the weight of the rhino dung for your chance to win some fantastic prizes on the day.”

The greater one-horned rhinoceros is a great conservation success story, having previously faced extinction in the early 1900s but, as a result of continued conservation efforts, has now increased to a population of roughly 3500.

Nonetheless, with threats including poaching and habitat destruction never too far away, much still needs to be done to protect the species.