The black rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) of the Oregon Zoo in Portland, Oregon, have gotten into the Halloween spirit by smashing giant pumpkins. The quick video, initially shared by Laughing Squid, reveals an grownup black rhino, Jozi, and her 10-month-old calf, Tamu (which suggests “candy” in Swahili), having a grand time breaking up pumpkins. Whereas black rhinos don’t encounter pumpkins within the wild of their native jap Africa, the winter squash is a wholesome, albeit irregular, deal with for the hook-lipped pachyderms. A necessary a part of an animal’s administration plan at a zoo consists of numerous enrichment. These embody any actions that fairly mimic a species’ pure behaviors and, in a black rhino’s case, vary from foraging for meals to participating totally different senses. Taking part in with and consuming pumpkins ticks a number of packing containers, because the rhinos should use their horns to interrupt the massive berries aside earlier than they’ll eat them. Rhinoceroses rely closely on scent, sound, and tactile sensations within the wild, and goring pumpkins satisfies all three. Movies just like the one above will not be solely cute, they’re a very good demonstration of an animal’s pure conduct and assist domesticate sturdy neighborhood engagement, guaranteeing the zoo has the guests — and funds — to not solely look after its animals however have interaction in very important conservation applications, just like the one the Oregon Zoo has for its black rhinos.
Because the black rhinoceros is critically endangered and there are solely an estimated 6,421 within the wild as of September 2024, per the Worldwide Rhino Basis’s annual State of the Rhino report, each accredited zoo with black rhinos should have an accredited species survival plan to be able to breed them. That is Tamu’s first Halloween, because the calf was born on December 4, 2023. Rhino calves can placed on as much as 5 kilos every day, in accordance with the Oregon Zoo’s rhino space supervisor Chad Harmon, so little Tamu has placed on a variety of weight thus far this 12 months to get into correct pumpkin-smashing kind. In comparison with the little tank’s look within the video under from February, his horn has grown considerably, and his second horn has already began coming in. The Oregon Zoo’s black rhinos weren’t the one inhabitants getting in on the pumpkin-filled enjoyable. The zoo shared one other video on its Instagram web page displaying different animals, together with elephants and polar bears, having fun with breaking gourds aside. Hopefully, movies like these will assist folks have interaction extra with animals, particularly essentially the most threatened ones. “These rhinos symbolize a species that’s among the many most imperiled on the planet,” mentioned Kelly Gomez, the Oregon Zoo’s Africa space supervisor, earlier this 12 months. “Hopefully, their story may help encourage a brand new chapter of their conservation.”
Picture credit: Oregon Zoo
