Give a rhino a mud bath this World Rhino Day!

To celebrate World Rhino Day this Friday 22 September 2023, visitors at Knowsley Safari will have the chance to get up close with rhinos by launching new Rhino Experiences.

 Families can step into the boots of an animal keeper with one of the UK’s largest rhino crash (a ‘crash’ is a group of rhinos).

Knowsley Safari’s eight-strong crash of southern white rhino, weighing up to two-tonnes each, includes baby Amara, who will be celebrating her first birthday in October. 

Like the rest of her rhino family, characterful Amara loves a mud bath to help maintain her skin’s moisture and protect it from sunburn and insect bites, so the new rhino experiences are as beneficial for the rhinos as they are for guests.

The 90-minute encounters are an adventure like no other, where guests will go behind the scenes supporting the animal team with their morning duties and helping turn the rhino out onto the Safari Drive, which at five miles is the longest in the UK. It is health and safety first as visitors interact with the rhinos from the Keeper Safe Zone.

White rhino have been brought back from the brink of extinction yet are still under threat from poaching in South Africa and Knowsley Safari hopes its new rhino experiences will help spread awareness of the issues the species faces in the wild.

Lindsay Banks, ungulates (hoofed mammals) team manager at Knowsley Safari says: “World Rhino Day is the perfect opportunity to highlight how loveable and very sociable these animals are, as well as raise awareness of the plight of rhino in the wild.

“The new rhino experiences are beneficial for both rhinos and visitors. Guests will witness the individual personalities of our rhino, while learning about conservation and what it takes to care for these majestic creatures.

“And the human interaction the rhino experiences offer is beneficial for the animals too. When veterinary procedures need to take place, several different people can be involved, so the experiences help the animals get used to contact with new faces.”

Knowsley’s Safari Drive provides a natural open space for the rhino, with the added benefit of a state-of-the-art house. The landscape is capable of supporting two separate crashes allowing females to move between different territories just as they would in the wild.

Lindsay is climbing Everest base camp in November 2023 to raise money for Helping Rhinos.

To book a Knowsley Safari rhino experience or general admission tickets, please visit knowsleysafari.co.uk. 

Rhino experiences are available to adults and children aged eight years and over and take place on Wednesdays and Saturdays throughout the year. Experiences are subject to availability and must be booked in advance. Experiences start from £199 for two people.