35 miles north of the San Diego Zoo and just east of Escondido is the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. Their Photo Caravan Safari Tours let tourists ride about in a flatbed truck and see several different species of rhinos (as well as giraffes and impalas and lots more) in a much larger environment than a typical static zoo display. (Among other things, you get to hand-feed the rhinos and giraffes.) Highly recommended.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html
stevaroni · 29 September 2008
One of these once sprayed urine on my wife in rhino house at the Denver Zoo.
Just a word of warning; when a rhinoceros strides purposely up to the rail, turns around, and backs up right to the bars, DO NOT lean in to try to figure out what he's up to.
There's gonna be an impressive display of territory marking going on very, very shortly, and if you stand off to the side, you will get a great picture of some extremely surprised tourists, um, who suddenly know exactly what he was up to in way too much detail.
Frank B · 29 September 2008
I had a high school classmate named Rick, who had a similar tale. He was visiting a zoo in Mexico, when he spied a gorilla cage mysteriously bereft of visitors. Rick ran up to the bars for a look. The gorilla had apparently learned the trick of shooting feces from an upright sitting position with amazing accuracy. My friend Rick received the green surprise upside the face. I am sure it made the gorilla's day.
Paul Burnett said:
35 miles north of the San Diego Zoo and just east of Escondido is the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. Their Photo Caravan Safari Tours let tourists ride about in a flatbed truck and see several different species of rhinos (as well as giraffes and impalas and lots more) in a much larger environment than a typical static zoo display. (Among other things, you get to hand-feed the rhinos and giraffes.) Highly recommended.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html
There's a similar facility in Ohio called The Wilds that has a working relationship with the Columbus Zoo of Jack Hanna fame. It's 10,000 acres of reclaimed strip mining country.
Wayne Francis · 30 September 2008
Hand feeding giraffes? Ok I'm cool with that. Hand feeding rhinos? Hmmm well as long as they aren't as mean as Hypos.
Ichthyic · 30 September 2008
aren't as mean as Hypos.
yeah, those hypos have a tendency to bite me in the ass (sometimes in the arm, too!). hate those things.
;)
Ian · 30 September 2008
Ichthyic, don't needle Wayne like that!
There's only one thing worse than a rhino pooping on your wife, and that's getting a Rhinovirus....
Wayne Francis said: Hand feeding giraffes? Ok I'm cool with that. Hand feeding rhinos? Hmmm well as long as they aren't as mean as Hypos.
Somewhere around here I've got pictures of my wife feeding both... She recalls her hand with a slice of apple was well inside the rhino's mouth, which is easily the size of a several-gallon bucket.
Richard W. Crews · 2 October 2008
kinda' overXposed. maybe you should have poked him with stick; get him up and in the sun.
Mike of Oz · 5 October 2008
Hmmm. I'm not so sure of the wisdom of public hand-feeding of such animals.
Down Under here in Oz, there are significant problems emerging from the practice of tourists hand-feeding "wild" crocodiles up north. Not the least of which is that they are becoming familiar with the principle of any human limb poking over the side of a boat being associated with yummy food.
Still. You're the master of your own destiny I guess.
11 Comments
Paul Burnett · 29 September 2008
35 miles north of the San Diego Zoo and just east of Escondido is the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park. Their Photo Caravan Safari Tours let tourists ride about in a flatbed truck and see several different species of rhinos (as well as giraffes and impalas and lots more) in a much larger environment than a typical static zoo display. (Among other things, you get to hand-feed the rhinos and giraffes.) Highly recommended.
http://www.sandiegozoo.org/wap/index.html
stevaroni · 29 September 2008
One of these once sprayed urine on my wife in rhino house at the Denver Zoo.
Just a word of warning; when a rhinoceros strides purposely up to the rail, turns around, and backs up right to the bars, DO NOT lean in to try to figure out what he's up to.
There's gonna be an impressive display of territory marking going on very, very shortly, and if you stand off to the side, you will get a great picture of some extremely surprised tourists, um, who suddenly know exactly what he was up to in way too much detail.
Frank B · 29 September 2008
I had a high school classmate named Rick, who had a similar tale. He was visiting a zoo in Mexico, when he spied a gorilla cage mysteriously bereft of visitors. Rick ran up to the bars for a look. The gorilla had apparently learned the trick of shooting feces from an upright sitting position with amazing accuracy. My friend Rick received the green surprise upside the face. I am sure it made the gorilla's day.
RBH · 30 September 2008
Wayne Francis · 30 September 2008
Hand feeding giraffes? Ok I'm cool with that. Hand feeding rhinos? Hmmm well as long as they aren't as mean as Hypos.
Ichthyic · 30 September 2008
aren't as mean as Hypos.
yeah, those hypos have a tendency to bite me in the ass (sometimes in the arm, too!). hate those things.
;)
Ian · 30 September 2008
Ichthyic, don't needle Wayne like that!
There's only one thing worse than a rhino pooping on your wife, and that's getting a Rhinovirus....
Paul Burnett · 30 September 2008
Richard W. Crews · 2 October 2008
kinda' overXposed. maybe you should have poked him with stick; get him up and in the sun.
Mike of Oz · 5 October 2008
Hmmm. I'm not so sure of the wisdom of public hand-feeding of such animals.
Down Under here in Oz, there are significant problems emerging from the practice of tourists hand-feeding "wild" crocodiles up north. Not the least of which is that they are becoming familiar with the principle of any human limb poking over the side of a boat being associated with yummy food.
Still. You're the master of your own destiny I guess.
Stanton · 5 October 2008