Baby White Rhino

The kids come along. They play in the snow and suffer the cold, because they know there are huge rewards for good kids at The Wilds. 

Although there are no monkeys at The Wilds,  Phoebe is wearing her monkey hat just for the occasion. I love this picture. Sasquatch Takes Five.

Phoebe and Liam team up with an adorable little guy named Evan and off they go, doing what kids do on grassy hills.

 They build a little snowman, and my camera captures the moment it topples over. Oops! Pushed too hard on the last tooth.

So Liam and Evan build another one, and give him an oakleaf rooster comb.

We are here for the rhinos. We climb on a hand-painted school bus that reeks faintly of rhino and head down to the barns.

We are here especially to see Anan, a three-month old southern white rhino.  She's the fourth white rhino born at the facility. And even better, she is the daughter of Zenzele, who was also born at The Wilds six years earlier! She weighed about 100 pounds at birth, but she was gaining rapidly.

 This photo doesn't look like much, but as it was taken I was planting a kiss on Anan's velvety nose, mmm mmm mmm.

 Such a little peanut head. The Wilds has a wonderful record of rhino births--eleven to date--seven southern whites and four one-horned Asian rhinos. The animals have 160 acres to graze on, and enough individuals to form a viable social structure. 

We adjourned to the outside, where we got some more rhino lore from a keeper. 

 This photo of Zenzele rolling reminds me of something from Fantasia, with elephants in tutus. Such a lusciously rounded lady she is! Her nice pink udder looks like a bikini bottom.

 I love rhino 'tocks.

More Anan anon.