West Palm Beach, FL – On Saturday, January 30th, 2021, baby Southern white rhino, Elna, will turn one year old. To celebrate this milestone birthday, staff at Lion Country Safari will set out treats and enrichments in the drive-through safari for her and the herd. Guests are encouraged to arrive early to watch the festivities and are also welcome to write birthday messages to her on their vehicles with non-toxic window markers.
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. These magnets were created using a similar method to rhino mud baths, with keepers smearing non-toxic children’s paint on Elna’s skin instead of mud. Magnets are available for a limited time at Lion Country Safari’s outdoor gift shop.
Of the five species of rhinos (White, Black, Indian, Sumatran and Javan), the white rhino is the most abundant, but all 5 species are in peril due mostly to poaching. 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 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.