Tuesday, May 28, 2013

We should have explained


yesterday about the Rhino statues being in the middle of 
New South Wales.

Black rhino
We have a zoo about 5 minutes away.  It's the only main tourist attraction in our area.
Some mornings on our walks we can hear the Siamang Apes hooting it's so close.
Indian elephants.  They are ex-circus animals who came here after one accidentally killed her handler.
 It's an open range zoo mainly used for breeding endangered animals--part of the Sydney zoo.
So we don't have all the animals you'd find in a zoo.
 
The more common wallabies and kangaroos roam around free
 We're not allowed in, of course.  They're afraid we'll take down one of the big cats.  BOL! 
 Actually even Guide Dogs aren't allowed in because of the spread of diseases.
Emus are in enclosures....they became too good at stealing picnic lunches.
There is now a baby Galapagos Tortoise--don't have a picture of him at the moment.


The zoo has had a very productive rhino breeding program.  But last year a mystery illness infected the White Rhino herd and four females died.

Asian One-horned rhino
One of the White Rhinos--a name apparently because of the English mistranslation of the Dutch word 'wijd' meaning 'wide'-- was pregnant at the time she contracted the illness. 

Mopani and her unnamed son--'wide square mouth' rhinos.
Miraculously, she not only survived, but presented the zoo with this little surprise on May 14th!
Rhinos have become a symbol to represent our little city,
 hence the statues.

36 comments:

  1. We're so glad Mopani survived - and brought along such a cute little surprise!

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  2. Wish I lived near a zoo. Don't know what Monkey would make of the apes hooting though

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  3. Daisy we are laughing at you pooing by the door yesterday..BOL We love Rhino's, they have saved some at a zoo not far from us xx00xxx

    Mollie and Alfie

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  4. Hehehe... We got the Rhino statue!

    My peep went to the zoo when she was in primary school. She still remembers the sound of the siamangs!

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    1. My peep went to the zoo and the zoo wanted to keep Him as an exhibit.

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  5. Girls this is an amazing post... mom and I love to see exotic animals....and what an amazing story about the not white rhino and her baby. We never knew why they were called white now we do. Great post Commissioners of all things Down under
    Hugs madi your b FFF

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  6. It's nice they have rescue places for zoo animals...

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  7. That was interesting to read and we are so glad mum and baby were fine. Have a terrific Tuesday.
    Best wishes Molly

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  8. That is just pawsome. we don't need to tell you what a struggle we are having here in South Africa with Rhino poaching ... sadly, it looks as if it is turning into a losing battle :(

    Look after your Rhinos!

    Wally & Sammy

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  9. You hear apes hooting in the mornings?! We hear cows mooing and house cats meowing. Not quite the same!

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  10. We are sorry to hear about losing the rhinos recently. We hope that the program is able to get back on its feet. I loved the tour of the place!!

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  11. We wish we could see all those animals! So they will NOT let you ride an elephant? Have you said "Pretty please"?

    Your Pals,

    Murphy & Stanley

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  12. well that explains it - rather like the Monarto Zoo that Adelaide has....it is where they send their animals to distress and not be on exhibit for a while. Is that part of Sydney Western Plains Zoo?

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  13. I was just gettin' a kick of the baby rhino sniffin' the Mama's butts!! hehehehe
    I love the new baby!!!! Yea Mopani!! Way to go gurl!!
    Thanks for the pics gurls! Sooooo pawsome!
    Kisses,
    Ruby

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  14. What a beautiful zoo. I am glad those animals have a nice place to live.


    Loveys Sasha

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  15. We are so very SORRY to hear that the White/Wide rhinos were sick.. butt thankfully the mom and BABY survived.

    We did NOT KNOW that you had a Zoo near you. THAT is wonderful. We have a very Special Place not far from HERE that is called
    THE WILDS . It has Both kinds of rhinos... and MOM got to TOUCH ONE once...
    We LOVE all Zoos and conservation places. They do fabulous things. THANK you fur sharing YOURS with US.
    Now ERNIE wants to talk... to Roxy (of Course)
    HI ROXY... I wanted to tell you that it was HARD, butt I WAS able to keep our Special Gnawing time... every day that I was at Sarge's house.. ALSO... he TRIED to SNIFF Petite Roxy.. butt I STOPPED HIM!!!
    HUGS and 87,000 Bazillion KISSES ♥♥♥♥ Ernie

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  16. How cool that you have a zoo this close! You can check in on the activity all the time! The baby rhino is so cute!

    Love ya lots♥
    Mitch and Molly

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  17. Wow, we are jealous that you live so close to a zoo. We live quite far from ours! However, we got pandas this year and can't wait to visit them!

    So glad to hear that Mopani and her precious little baby survived. I hear that white rhinos are VERY endangered. Props to the zoo for having an effective breeding program.

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  18. How cool. What a special place, doing special work. I always cry when I see television news reports about the rhinos and how they're killed for their horns.

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  19. BOL!! I would love to play with one of those rinos!!

    Licks,
    Buddy

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  20. We liked the tour of your zoo.

    Millie & Walter

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  21. My neighbor would love your zoo. My neighbor has worked for the Cincinnati Zoo for over twenty years and he is the head Rhino keeper. His license plate reads Rhino 1. Last year he was out of the country in Africa waiting and helping with the birth of a baby Rhino. Our zoo sends him wherever he is need. He is just a super guy.
    Sweet William The Scot

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  22. Thanks for the story behind that pic. We have a zoo in Kansas City. They recently acquired two BIG white polar bears. They are hoping that SHE might have a baby sometime next year:)

    Woos - Phantom, Thunder, Ciara, and Lightning

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  23. That was so cool. Thank you for taking us to the zoo with you

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  24. That is so cool. We would scream at your fake friends for sure
    Benny & Lily

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  25. That was a really nice visit to the zoo.
    The baby rhino shares a birthday with Annie's Dad :-)

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  26. What a lovely post! We loved seeing those photos and hearing about the zoo - sad about the rhinos that died but at least a happy ending for Mopani :-) Thanks for sharing - woofs and licks from Magic xx

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  27. LOL. At first I thought they were statues and then I continued reading the post. It's too bad you guys weren't allowed in... At least you got to share some pretty awesome pictures.

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  28. Typical of the English getting the name wrong! If I'd been there I'd have made sure it was right 'cos us Scots really know how to talk/yap properly ... right? Anyhoo what a fabby story. Loved the bit about the baby wide mouth rhino (hope he gets a proper name). I just popped "down" to see your other post about the statues - think I'd have ran a mile, rather than sit and have my photo taken. You girls are so brave. RooOoodles Bobby!

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  29. We like your header and the pics. How Pawsome to live so close to a zoo and be able to visit sometimes. Thanks for sharing about it.
    Wags
    Ernie and the pack

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  30. So glad the rhino momma and baby r ok and the zoo looks great
    Urban hounds

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  31. scotsmad....
    Stop!! You are making me long for our local zoo!! And we can only afford to visit on special occasions, because it is so expensive!! ;op
    Love, Raelyn.... Plus Rose, my BEAUTIFULLY UNIQUE "Mystery Dog"!!


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  32. Our zoo is just two miles from us. They had a breeding program for elephants and for giraffes but then a disease killed several baby elephants so they've suspended that program. Mom likes to feed the giraffes and watch the babies run around on their stilt legs. We like to drive by and smell the stinky fox that lives there.

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