Rare rhino celebrates 1st birthday at Lion Country Safari
LAKE MARY, Fla. - The South Florida attraction Lion County Safari will be celebrating the first birthday this month for a rare southern white rhinoceros.
At birth, Elna weight approximately 100 pounds (45kg). Park officials estimate her current weight to be 1,100 pounds (499kg).
In honor of Elna’s birthday, Lion Country Safari is selling paint print magnets, with proceeds supporting conservation efforts to save rhinos in the wild.
Of the five species of rhinos (white, black, Indian, Sumatran, and Javan), the white rhino is the most abundant, but all five species are in peril due mostly to poaching, according to Lion Country Safari. The southern white rhino is the only species of rhino that eats just grasses; the others also browse on trees and shrubs.
Lion Country Safari, located in West Palm Beach, is home to 14 White Rhinos – 10 females and 3 males and is a proud participant of the White Rhinoceros Species Survival Plan (SSP), a program of the Associations of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA). The SSP ensures that a genetically sound population of White Rhinos survives should threats worsen in the wild.
For more information on rhinos, visit the International Rhino Foundation: http://www.rhinos.org and Save the Rhinos www.savetherhino.org.