Save the Rhinos,
the EAZA Rhino Campaign 2005/6
| MEMBER ACTIVITIES | HOME >> |
Rhino Days at Zoologischer Garten Köln
When in 2005 the last elephant left the old elephant house in Cologne Zoo that was built in 1863 (our new elephants are kept in a large new enclosure), there was much space available apart from the black rhinoceros and hippos. With the rhino campaign in 2005/2006, the zoo grabbed the opportunity to design an exhibition about rhinos, their threats and ways to save them. The focus of the exhibition is the support provided by Cologne Zoo to the project of the ZGF (Zoological Society Frankfurt) in North Luangwa, where Black rhinos are reintroduced.To launch the campaign and to make it popular, several Rhino days were organised. Visitors could go to different information points where they had to carry out some tasks or received special information about rhinos;
Info station: Visitors get information about the rhino's ancestors, rhino biology and especially about the horn and its role in rhino poaching. We show a real rhino horn and in comparison a horn of an antelope and antlers of a deer.
Rhino on tour: At this station visitors get an idea about the necessity of rhino transports and logistic problems connected with these transports. With a crossbow for children they have to anaesthetise a rhino, in this case a rhino silhouette made of steel, which is part of the exhibition.
Who is who? Visitors have to recognize
parts of different pachyderms, e.g. footprints, pictures of the skin, sound of hippos, rhinos and elephants.
Bad eyes - good ears: Rhinos can not see well. To understand how to find one`s way by using the other four senses, visitors get glasses covered with plastic foil, so that they can only see very badly. Then they have to walk along a special course.
Rhino-silhouettes: Visitors can create their own coloured rhino silhouettes. We collect all silhouettes them and will exhibit 3600 on a line by the end of September. The silhouettes symbolize the last black rhinos in the wilderness. The line will be about 1,5 kilometers long and will span across the whole zoo. This will attract the awareness of the public and the press and hopefully help to raise some more money for the project.
Path of traces: Visitors can walk through a small forest where they can find footprints of rhinos, but also traces of a poacher: cartridges, a pack of cigarettes, a cooking pot, snares and some blood. They understand that poaching is a major problem for rhinos living in the wilderness and that being a ranger is a hard and dangerous job.
At every station visitors receive a stamp when they did their job successfully. When they have collected all stamps, they receive a certificate which states that they are rhino experts now. Rhino days take place on three weekends: 22./23.4.06; 20./21.5.06 and 23./24.9.06.
In addition to the official rhino days we are going to offer our "rhino programme" as an event for business parties of big companies. They are visiting our rhino stations exclusively with their employers and get special guided tours to our rhinos. After completing the rhino course the best rhino ranger will be elected. Then the participants are having a party in our zoo restaurant. A considerable amount of the money raised with this zoo event will be donated to the Save the Rhinos campaign.
| EAZA Rhino Campaign menu | ||
| >> Home/Intro | >> Materials & Activities | |
| >> Registration | >> Contacts | |
| >> Targets | >> Awards & Certificates | |
| >> Rhino Shop | >> Rhino information | |