Have you ever wondered about the best practices for keeping rhinos?
January 5, 2025 7:06 PM Subscribe

Have you ever wondered about the best practices for keeping rhinos in zoos? The International Rhino Keeper Association has you covered!

The Indian rhinoceros, or greater one-horned rhinoceros, (Rhinoceros unicornis) Housing facilities must be large enough to allow the rhinos plenty of room for exercise. These rhinos can be social, and depending on the size of the enclosure several can be kept together at one time. (The San Diego Wild Animal Park has housed as many as 16 rhinos in a 43-acre multi-species exhibit).

The enclosure must have adequate shade, a mud wallow, outdoor enrichment items and preferably a pool. Like Sumatran rhinos, Indian rhinos are susceptible to foot and skin problems so moisture is a must. Lounging under water with just their noses sticking out is a common practice of these rhinos.

These rhinos benefit from having play items, such as heavy boomer balls to push around. Enrichment can also come in the form of shade trees which double as a food source. Another form of enrichment is allowing the public to get close to these rhinos. Their temperament can be quite docile at times, making them candidates for an up close visit on a behind-the-scenes tour.

White rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum)

White rhinoceros reproduce more successfully when housed in a herd, and only a few institutions can house a herd of rhinos. Males can be housed alone but prefer to be housed with at least one female. Females are housed with at least one other female if no male is present, depending on the size of the enclosure.

White rhinos don’t swim so pools are not necessary and can sometimes be a hazard if they are deep.

posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries (13 comments total) 7 users marked this as a favorite

There is a winery in Fredericksburg, TX (Texas wine is a thing!) that houses a rhino conservatory and I asked about this! They have meetings and everything. Rhinory currently has one male rhino and when he gets older, they’re gonna get him a harem to breed with. Then, he goes to another sanctuary and they keep working on their breeding program.
Wine isn’t half bad either.
posted by honeybee413 at 7:26 PM on January 5 [3 favorites]

I have not...

I have two dogs. More than I can handle.

Rhino's... Just no
posted by Windopaene at 8:46 PM on January 5 [2 favorites]

I have never wondered about the best practices for keeping rhinos in zoos! What kismet!
posted by cortex at 9:05 PM on January 5 [1 favorite]

must have adequate shade, a mud wallow, outdoor enrichment items and preferably a pool

same, greater one-horned rhinoceroses, hard same
posted by away for regrooving at 9:20 PM on January 5 [6 favorites]

I’ve read that rhinos like to defecate in the same place daily, so this suggests they can be trained to use a litter box. Unfortunately, they also defecate a lot, and the process is, apparently, gristly, so a rhino as an indoor pet seems unwise.
posted by GenjiandProust at 4:27 AM on January 6 [2 favorites]

Now I want a castle and a rhino (or several). Eat your heart out, bit players who only have crocodiles in your moats!
posted by I claim sanctuary at 5:00 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]

I remember seeing a young rhino calf at DC's National Zoo years ago. To my surprise he had the same skin-wrinkles as the adults, just in miniature. No horn yet, though. He was playing with an apple on the floor of his enclosure, bumping it with his stubby little nose and chasing it around. My Dad and I watched him for a while, entirely happy.
posted by Pallas Athena at 5:58 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]

Grumpybearbride got me a special "behind the scenes" tour of the Philly Zoo for Valentine's Day one year, and we ended up going to the rhino enclosure. We were allowed to say hello to the rhino and even brush their hide. What I didn't realize until I tried to brush the hide of a rhino is that despite weighing 1000000lbs, they are extremely fast. The rhino got spooked and jumped back like 5 feet, and the sudden realization of what an absolutely enormously powerful beast it was triggered my "YOU ARE GOING TO DIE" reflex and I just backed as far away from the cage as was possible and refused to engage for the rest of the tour, much to GBB's dismay.

Rhinos: very cool, from a safe distance.
posted by grumpybear69 at 6:04 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]

I learned recently that the Central Florida Zoo offers rhino encounters, which seems ill advised to my ignorant, low-rhino-info brain. But apparently this is a thing elsewhere too.
posted by Headfullofair at 9:08 AM on January 6

"must have adequate shade, a mud wallow, outdoor enrichment items and preferably a pool"

Sounds great... where do I sign up?
posted by 43rdAnd9th at 9:23 AM on January 6

I learned recently that the Central Florida Zoo offers rhino encounters, which seems ill advised to my ignorant, low-rhino-info brain. But apparently this is a thing elsewhere too.

Based on the website I linked to, the danger of humans interacting with rhinos varies widely by species, with black or hook-lipped rhinos being more dangerous than white rhinos;

and white rhinos being more dangerous than
Indian rhinoceros/greater one-horned rhinoceros.

It sounds like the danger of interacting with
Indian rhinoceros/greater one-horned rhinoceros that have been trained to interact with people, under the supervision of qualified zookeepers, is on the lower end of the risk spectrum. And this is the species that Central Florida Zoo offers encounters with.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 10:26 AM on January 6 [1 favorite]

I tend to think of rhinos as a slightly skittish herbivore whose fight orb flight reflex is heavily weighting toward “fight.” And they have bad eyesight and weigh as much as a truck. A bit like an elephant but less discerning or a hippo but less murderous.
posted by GenjiandProust at 12:57 PM on January 6

OMG! This is just the best sentence on the whole page:

Most white rhinos enjoy interacting with the public as long as a good scratching is involved.

Must. Scritch. Rhino.
Do you think psspsspss would work to entice them?
posted by BlueHorse at 11:56 AM on January 7

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Have you ever wondered about the best practices for keeping rhinos? January 5, 2025 7:06 PM Subscribe

Have you ever wondered about the best practices for keeping rhinos?
January 5, 2025 7:06 PM Subscribe