Zoo InternQuest is a career exploration program for high school students. For more information see the Zoo InternQuest Journals. For more photos see the Zoo InternQuest Photo Journal.

The Wild Animal Park first opened in May of 1972. However, the Park’s first inhabitants appeared on site a few years earlier in 1969. What were these first animals that made the Park successful enough to become what it is today? That is correct…rhinos! Today, the Wild Animal Park is home to several species/subspecies of rhinoceroses including Indian, black, southern white, and northern white; the last three are indigenous to Africa.

Bouncing on bales of hay in the back of a keeper truck, our first destination was the Central Asian plains to see the Indian rhinos. There have been nearly 70 Indian rhinos born at the Park. This includes baby Jontu, who is about a month old. Rhinos are one of the fastest growing animals, gaining about 100 pounds every month for their first year. But even with all this success at different zoos and parks, Indian rhinos are still endangered with only about 2,400 individuals left on the planet. This is due largely to habitat loss, but it is also due to poaching.

Currently, there is an effort to gather copious amounts of information about rhinos and to have all of it available in one location. Jane Kennedy, a 25-year veteran animal keeper at the Wild Animal Park and resident rhino expert, will soon be flying to London to aid this effort. Several efforts are underway to understand and protect these incredible creatures, but what really helps is when people make the conscious effort to protect the environment and be aware of how they are affecting the planet.

Amelia, Conservation Team

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