The rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo are beating the muggy heat this summer by wallowing in specially created mud baths on the Zoo’s savannah.
The crush of five rhinos is making the most of Melbourne’s mix of rain and heat by rolling, splashing and sitting in the mud, which is fantastic for their skin as it acts as a natural sunscreen.
Savannah keeper Debbie Jones said visitors touring through the 30-hectare savannah on the Zoo’s safari buses can observe the rhinos wallowing all together on hot-and-rainy days.
“Rhinos are very playful so they love to splash around, but when they find a comfortable spot in the mud wallow they can stay for hours basking in the sun and cooling themselves off,” she said.
“The mud also protects their skin from insects and stops it from drying out in the sun.”
The rhinos can often be seen wallowing alongside each other as they spend important bonding time.
“All of the rhinos wallow differently. Some of them are more playful than others and can get their whole body submerged in the mud, while others, like 17-year-old male Kifaru, are a little too big to roll all the way over,” Ms Jones said.
“We’re very lucky at Werribee Open Range Zoo to have enough space for five wallows, so the rhinos can bond by spending time together in the mud as they would do in the wild.”
There are fewer than 20,000 Southern White Rhinoceros remaining in the wild with populations under serious threat from illegal poaching and habitat destruction. The species is classified as Near Threatened in the wild by the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List.
The rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo form part of a regional breeding program to maintain an insurance population in the fight against extinction.
