White Rhinoceros, Ceratotherium simum.

On Tuesday, to celebrate our Wedding anniversary (21 years), we took a family day out to Woburn Safari Park. One of the first animals we came across was also one of the largest, the White Rhino Ceratotherium simum. They average a staggering 3.7 - 4 m (12 - 13 ft.) in length, weigh up to 2.3 tonnes (2.25 tons) and have a life expectancy of  40 - 50 Years.

The rhino’s roam freely through the sweeping grassland and trees of the park to simulate how they would do in the wild. This meant that they were constantly crossing back and forth in front of the cars. This meant there was plenty of opportunities to take photos from the window of our car. Obviously we stayed safely inside the car as they are quite formidable beasts.

Last time we went one of the rhino’s decided to rest it’s head on the bonnet of our car and had to be be nudged out of the way by the rangers Landrover. This time we were a bit more fortunate and they stayed a little distance from the car.

There are various “Crashes” (the collective noun for a herd of rhinos) as you drive through the first section of the park, interspersed with other animals of the savannah. Will show you more of these in later posts.

So there we have it, The White Rhino with it’s magnificent and majestic horns, a wonderful animal to behold but not one to get in the way of.