Nature
PUBLISHED
What's the most important part of being a zookeeper? Probably remembering to lock the animals up. Feeding them matters of course, but if you don't do that they'll remind you. Whereas having large wild beasts roaming the main street is generally considered a bad idea all around.
The rest of this article is behind a paywall. Please sign in or subscribe to access the full content.If you're going to let the pacyderms out, it's probably a particularly bad career move to have it happen on camera. So it is likely that someone at Ramat Gan Safari park, the Middle East's largest collection of wildlife under human supervision, is clearing out their desk after apparently not only forgetting to lock the gate, but falling asleep as three white rhinoceroses (Ceratotherium simums) trotted past.
The good news is that no one was injured, including the rhinos.
The story also serves as a bit of an example of the difference between courage and wisdom. After spotting the three escaped rhinos—named Rihanna, Keren Peles and Karnivala—leaving the complex, one guard ran after them. Presumably he thought he could, single-handedly and empty-handed, round up three beasts which typically weigh 1.6 tonnes each. With horns.
On the other hand, someone else thought to call the police, who after initial disbelief put in a road block. Park spokesperson Sagit Horowitz stated, “We located the rhinos in the car park not far from the safari park itself…Overall, the rhinos were outside about 10 minutes.”
White rhinos have been kept at the park since 1978, and 17 calves have been bred there. While northern white rhinos are critically endangered, these intrepid individuals are from the near threatened southern subspecies.
Non-forgetful people with a hankering to work with animals should send their application to Ramat Gan Safari park, Tel Aviv.
