Snow Joke For Playful Rhinos
18th Jan 2013
The cold weather was snow joke for a pair of rhinos who took every opportunity to scout out a snow sculpture.
Rumbull and Rumba are two white rhinos which live at Noah’s Ark Zoo Farm in Wraxall and zoo keepers there had fun building them a rhino-shaped snowman to play with.
Not used to the cold weather which is gracing Bristol this week, the rhinos need to be encouraged to eat their hay outdoors and the snow play was just one of the behavioural enrichment activities which are planned at Noah’s Ark.
With a miniature horn, the little snow rhino was a bit of a surprise for the zoo’s impressive grey beasts but they were keen to investigate and enjoy a frolic before munching on hay together.
A video of the rhinos playing in their snowy field at Noah’s Ark can be seen here, and photos and film are available on request from Noah’s Ark.
Keepers kept a close eye on the hefty grey couple, allowing them out only for a short time before bringing them in to warm up.
Snow enrichment has proved popular at the zoo with a number of animals, particularly with the larger species such as the big cats and rhinos. It’s often used as a way to stimulate interest and activity in the animals by presenting them with a novel situation and a different way to offer food.
