World Rhino Day 2012: FIVE RHINO SPECIES FOREVER! World Rhino Day celebrates all five species of rhino and works to eliminate demand for rhino horn by highlighting efforts to debunk the medicinal myths about rhino horn. Please join us in our efforts to bring attention to the plight of these iconic pachyderms on September 22.
Check out what people in South Africa are doing for World Rhino Day! Join them if you can!
Durbanville Hills Race the Rhino, a mountain bike race organized by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) will take place in Van Gaalen, Magaliesberg, Gauteng.
A three-course “Save the Rhino” menu with wine pairings will be held at Reuben’s, One & Only in Cape Town, with guest speaker Galeo Saintz.
The Rhino Run, a countrywide trail running event organized by Sian O’Keeffe, Thandi Rhino Injection Fund, EWT, and MyPlanet Rhino Fund.
The RhinoSerious campaign together with WESSA will be hosting a concert for conservation at Riverside Mall in Nelspruit to benefit anti-poaching efforts.
A World Rhino Day Walk will take place in George (Western Cape), starting on York Street, and is organized by Facebook groups Save Our Rhino and Outraged South African Citizens Against Poaching.
“I Will Be Your Voice” is holding a World Rhino Day celebration on 18 September that will include an art auction, live music, and a three course dinner. The event will benefit Chipembere Rhino Foundation.
FedGroup Berg & Bush will celebrate World Rhino Day with a mountain bike race through KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, 22 September, which will benefit Spioenkop Game Reserve’s 28 white rhinos.Part of the race will actually cross through the reserve in an area where rhinos might be seen!
Check out what people in the US are doing for World Rhino Day! Join them if you can!
Special tours and a behind-the-scenes look at the black rhino exhibit at will be given at Potter Park Zoo on World Rhino Day! Zookeepers will guide you into the exhibit holding area and show you the work that goes into the care and preservation of these amazing animals. Proceeds benefit International Rhino Foundation.
Join the Houston Zoo on September 22nd and 23rdfor a special Spotlight on Species event celebrating World Rhino Day. The event will take place at the White Rhinoceros exhibit in The African Forest from 10 a.m. until 3 p.m. Special keeper chats focusing on Rhinos will be scheduled throughout the day. Children can take part in making rhino-themed crafts and face painting. Items and merchandise will be available for purchase with proceeds going to the International Rhino Foundation.
Visit the rhinos at the Saint Louis Zoo from 10 — 3 on World Rhino Day to learn more about rhinos and participate in a fun craft for kids. You will leave with an understanding of what the zoo is doing to help rhinos and what you can do, too!
Cameron Park Zoo in Waco, Texas, in conjunction with the International Rhino Keeper Association, has organized an awareness-raising event featuring keeper talks, activities and t-shirt sales to benefit rhino conservation.
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Glen Rose, Texas will be celebrating World Rhino Day by offering free activities at their front gate, as well as $10 guided tours to see the rhinos residing at their facilities.
The Horns and Heroes Project is having an art show and auction in Orlando, Florida (USA) to benefit the International Rhino Foundation
Hosting your own World Rhino Day event? Click here to add it to the official World Rhino Day event map!
Check out what people in Australia and New Zealand are doing for World Rhino Day! Join them if you can!
Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo is holding a number of fundraising and awareness activities, including donation buckets at special keeper talks for visitors and Zoofari Lodge guests, a ‘palm-print rhino’ art work installation and more. Funds raised will be donated to the International Rhino Foundation.
Auckland Zoo is celebrating rhinos with rhino chalk drawings, rhino hat giveaways, rhino activity sheets, a display of rhino food and enrichment, rhino encounters, and competitions.
Hosting your own World Rhino Day event? Click here to add it to the official World Rhino Day event map!
Check out what people in Europe are doing for World Rhino Day! Join them if you can!
United Kingdom:
Save the Rhino International is holding a “World Wino Day” wine tasting event at Vivat Bacchus restaurant, London Bridge, from 5-7 PM on Saturday, 22 September.
Knowsley Safari Park is hosting “Blow Your Horn for Rhinos” — a family event to support “Save the Rhinos” that will include live music, food, cocktails, and chances to win prizes. The party will get started on Saturday, 1 September at 6 PM.
The Three Wine Men will be holding an awareness-raising events at Lord’s Cricket Ground in London on 20 & 21 September. A portion of proceeds made on tickets will be donated to Save the Rhino International, when tickets are purchased using the code: 3WINERHINO.
Rhino Ark — a Kenya-based conservation organization — will be holding the first-ever “Rhino Safari Run” on World Rhino Day (22 September) at the Pippingford Park estate in East Sussex. The non-competitive 4×4 event will also be offering guided tours of the grounds and its wildlife to families with 4x4s.
Port Lympne Wild Animal Park will be making a fuss about some of its largest residents on Saturday to mark the official Rhino and Elephant Appreciation Day. A host of activities will be going on around the park such as tours of the elephant and rhino houses, a raffle to win prizes including a Keeper For The Day Experience. All proceeds raised will go towards Wildlife Alliance — a conservation organisation with close ties to The Aspinall Foundation.
Edinburgh Zoo in Scotland will be hosting several World Rhino Day activities on 22 September — including rhino arts and crafts, a “rhino wordsearch”, a rhino ranger game for kids, as well as education about the five rhino species and their plight. It will take place in the Rainforest Room of the Zoo’s Education Centre from 11 AM – 4 PM. Stay connected via Edinburgh Zoo’s Facebook page and Twitter account!
Netherlands:
Navasta Communications will be holding an “I Will Be Your Voice” Nyama Choma (Kenyan style BBQ) lunch on 9 September at 1 PM. The event will take place at 3Stones Kenyan Restaurant (The Hague) and funds raised will be donated to Chipembere Rhino Foundation.
Switzerland
At Zoo Basel in Switzerland, a special info stand calling attention to the urgent need to protect rhinoceroses will be set up and animal keepers will be near the rhinoceros enclosure to offer information from 10am to 12pm and 2pm to 4pm! Zoo Basel contributes a portion of its admissions to rhino conservation efforts in India.
Hosting your own World Rhino Day event? Click here to add it to the official World Rhino Day event map!
Save the Rhino International took it to the streets on World Rhino Day 2011!
Are you looking for ideas about how to celebrate World Rhino Day on September 22nd?
Here are a few ideas from previous World Rhino Days to get your creative juices flowing!
World Rhino Day 2011 parade in Harare, Zimbabwe.Organize a parade
The Zimbabwe National Parks hosted an amazing parade and celebrations for World Rhino Day 2011! Music played a pivotal role in the event. The parade was led by the police band. The celebration was enriched by the nation’s favourite musician, Oliver Mutukudzi, who had dignitaries and crowds bopping for rhinos!
Students also performed their own song “Join Hands to Save the Rhino” with youthful free-style spoken word.
World Rhino Day 2011 in Harare.
The Minister of Environment, Francis Nhema, gave an inspirational speech demonstrating Zimbabwe’s commitment to rhino conservation and strongly promoting the message “Rhino Horn is NOT Medicine”.
World Rhino Day artwork by students in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe schoolchildren enjoyed a video of “The Rhino Song” and celebrated World Rhino Day with art, videos and creative writing.
Take it to the streets
In London, Save the Rhino International took it to the streets and held a peaceful protest in front of the Vietnamese Embassy. Wearing rhino costumes and carrying placards, the team showed off jars of human toenails, to emphasize the fact that consuming rhino horn has no more medicinal value than chewing a toenail.
Takin’ to the streets of London on World Rhino Day 2011!
Photos from Save the Rhino International’s event can be seen here.
And of course, there was a ton of support for South Africa’s iconic pachyderms on World Rhino Day.
Standing tall for rhinos in Cape Town, South Africa!
An enthusiastic gathering in Cape Town attracted hundreds of people, thanks to the efforts of Rhino Africa Safaris and other local businesses.
Rhinos on the airwaves
In Nepal, Partnership for Rhino Conservation (PARC/Nepal) arranged a TV and radio broadcast to celebrate the country’s first World Rhino Day in 2011.
Nepal’s first World Rhino Day was held in 2011!
Learn more about the grassroots organization PARC/Nepal here.
Hold an art contest and auction
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas celebrated World Rhino Day by hosting an art contest for local schoolchildren, and selling the art on September 22nd at Hollywood and Vine restaurant in Glen Rose.
Fossil Rim Wildlife Center in Texas held a school art contest and then auctioned the artwork to benefit the rhino program.
All proceeds from the art show and a portion of the proceeds from the dinners served on World Rhino Day went to Fossil Rim’s rhino program!
Social media
TRAFFIC Southeast Asia featured rhinos throughout the month of September for its social media campaign.
Javan and Sumatran rhino posters from TRAFFIC Southeast Asia to commemorate World Rhino Day.Links to download the Javan and Sumatran rhino posters can be found here.
Education for Nature-Vietnam (ENV), a local NGO, launched an online campaign for World Rhino Day on the ENV Volunteer Network page on Facebook, which is in Vietnamese.
An article about rhino conservation and World Rhino Day (“Hưởng ứng ngày quốc tế bảo vệ Tê giác”) which discourages the use of rhino horn – pointing out that it is both unnecessary and illegal – is posted on the page. Read it here. “Bust the Myth, Save the Species” and “Rhino horn is not medicine” posters in Vietnamese.
In addition, an album entitled “Sừng tê giác không phải thuốc trị bệnh” (“Rhino horn is not medicine”) featuring Vietnamese language posters was created. URLS for downloading the posters are included. View the album here.
Go climb a rock!
The Asian Rhino Project in Australia raised funds with a “Rock Climbing for Rhinos” event. Participants tested their skill in the indoor comfort of Rockface in Perth, and also enjoyed a barbecue.
Why aren’t all organizations working together on one event? Cause-related organizations, NGOs, zoos, and members of the public are encouraged to celebrate World Rhino Day in their own unique ways. These activities will vary greatly from one participant to the next. Donors and partners can contribute to the organizations and initiatives of their choosing. Classroom projects, fundraising dinners, auctions and poster displays are just a few examples. Keep us posted on your plans!
Our organization is holding a fundraising event for rhinos in September, but it’s not on World Rhino Day itself. Does this count as a World Rhino Day celebration? Yes! Most any promotional or fundraising event for rhinos during the month of September can be a World Rhino Day celebration!
How do we register our World Rhino Day event? Please send your information and images to: info (at) worldrhinoday (dot) org and we’ll add it to the World Rhino Day website. If you have already blogged your event or added it to your website, post the link to the World Rhino Day page on Facebook® at facebook.com/WorldRhinoDay
What is the purpose of the World Rhino Day page on Facebook®? The World Rhino Day page is set up as a centralized online information source where participants can receive updates and share plans for the Big Day. The Twitter hashtag is #worldrhinoday
But I’m just one person – what can I do to help? One person can help make an impact, thanks to the reach of social media. Sharing information via social media is a critical component for raising public awareness. Anyone can select an article or a cause to share across their own social networks, which can have a trickle up effect on traditional media. How about sharing a dozen rhino-related links across your social networks on World Rhino Day (#worldrhinoday)?
For inspiration and ideas, check out the World Rhino Day 2011 video:
Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia is preparing for World Rhino Day 2012.Save the Rhino Trust in Namibia has been successfully protecting the unique, desert-adapted black rhino for 30 years.
Following last year’s successful World Rhino Day, Save the Rhino Trust is getting ready for a “bigger and better” World Rhino Day 2012 celebration!
We feel an enormous sense of responsibility towards this last truly free-ranging black rhino population in the world. This year, we again plan to commemorate World Rhino Day and to go bigger and better than we did in 2011.
Save the Rhino Trust Namibia participated in World Rhino Day last year through the following events and activities:
A banner advertising World Rhino Day was carried on the website.
A free editorial in The Namibian newspaper on September 2nd, which resulted in a donation from a Canadian visitor and a subsequent donation from his 9 year old daughter.
Sunshine Tours, one of Save the Rhino Trust Namibia’s sponsors, donated a much-needed 4×4 vehicle.
On September 22nd, various suppliers of both Sunshine Tours and Save the Rhino Trust attended a function where SRT gave a presentation. From this event, an individual Swakopmund girl decided to sponsor a rhino calf and Tacho Namibia decided to donate two vehicle tracking systems!!
Posters advertising World Rhino Day were displayed at strategic places and folded bookmark-size brochures raising awareness of the plight of rhinos were distributed to all travellers on Sunshine Tours shuttle buses on World Rhino Day.
World Rhino Day 2011 messages and posters created by the children of Mondesa Youth Opportunities
Save the Rhino Trust Namibia visited three different schools on World Rhino Day 2011, giving presentations on rhino and the threats they face. At one school, four posters were made by the children with messages about saving rhino and were distributed to the President’s Office, as well as the offices of the Minister of Environment and Tourism, the Minister of Mines and Energy and the Minister of Justice. Subsequent to this, one child spoke out for the rhino on a school visit to the Houses of Parliament — so the message really got through!
Message to the Prime Minister: World Rhino Day Message to the Prime Minister. “We would like to thank you for putting so much effort into protecting and preserving one of our most spectacular wonders of nature for future generations’ economy and education. We are really determined to stop poachers. By using the media, there is a great chance of educating Namibians about these AMAZING ANIMALS. We hope you will prioritize this issue because RHINOS will otherwise go extinct very quickly and our children will not be able to see these AMAZING ANIMALS OF AFRICA!”
Message to the Minister of Environment and Tourism: World Rhino Day Message to the Minister of Environment and Tourism.
“We would like to thank you for taking the rhinos into consideration and caring about them. Even though the rhinos are becoming extinct, we understand that you are doing everything in your power to prolong the lives of the rhinos. Thank you for making farmers and people aware of poachers that want to destroy the rhinos for personal purposes.”
Message to the Minister of Mines and Energy: World Rhino Day Message to the Minister of Mines and Energy.
“We would like you to join us in a way that you can HELP us by just doing your part. Mining is something good and fun, we think, but part-time nature is crying because we don’t take care of its valuable creatures including rhinos.”
Message to the Minister of Justice: World Rhino Day Message to the Minister of Justice.
“Namibia is very proud of our rhinos, but rhinos are being poached every day across Africa. We hope that if the poachers steal our rhinos, you will punish them very strongly. Their motive is to make an income, but poaching is not the solution!”
Durbanville Hills Race the Rhino, a mountain bike race organized by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) will take place in Van Gaalen, Magaliesberg, Gauteng.
