Ok so I thought I would start off with one of my favorite animals (besides the snow leopard which are amazing animals) the rhinnooooo! That’s right folks, the short, stubby, tank on four legs. This impressive animal has enough power to split open a car, and yes those photos are taken by me, and yes I was quite nervous. These awe-inspiring power houses brought my safari ride in the Animal Kingdom park to a screeching halt. Ok maybe not screeching, but the driver did have to stop. I wasn’t exactly sure how safe we were, being so close to these rhinos, but nothing happened and I came out with some awesome photos so I was pretty happy to say the least (ok so I was as happy as Taylor Swift was at the VMAs before she got interrupted by Mr. West himself, which seemed quite happy).
Ok so these rhinos, as most everyone knows, are becoming more and more rare to see out in the wild. The rhinos in the photographs are white rhinos, but there are a total of five rhino species scattered around the world. When people think of rhinos, they most likely think of the rolling plains in Africa. But there are actually rhinos in other parts of the world (although they are diminishing in numbers at an incredible rate). In fact, the Javan Rhinoceros, which makes its home in Western Indonesia, is said by the World Wildlife Foundation (WWF) as the world’s rarest large mammal! Fewer than 60 are in the wild with none in captivity. This is horrible to hear, seeing as they are majestic creatures, but there are ways to help! WWF has a program (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/extraordinary_detail.cfm?egid=borneo) where you buy a gift and fund the anti-poaching groups in Indonesia. The gift is… well it’s $10,000. Soooo it may be a little out of a regular person’s price range, but fear not! They have alternatives such as their “Adopt-a-Rhino” program which has donations ranging from $25 to $100 (http://www.worldwildlife.org/ogc/species_SKU.cfm?gid=29&sc=AWY1000WC900). Unfortunately you don’t actually get a rhino for your home (which I actually thought would happen when I saw those commercials when i was a kid… I really wanted a damn tiger. My mom had to keep explaining that I wouldn’t actually get one) but you do get a certificate and some other goodies for your money! There is also this website: http://www.savingrhinos.org/How-to-help-Rhinos.html which has a ton of other resources to help you contribute to rhino conservation! So check it out and help out a rhino, make sure these amazing animals are around for your grandchildren!
Signing out, (gotta go watch Megan Fox on SNL)
Danny
