Rare Black Rhino at Iowa Zoo Playfully Frolics in Snow
A critically endangered black rhino named Tumani had the best time ever at the Blank Park zoo in Des Moines, Iowa in a beautiful video shared January 25.
Some of us may be counting down the days until spring, but this gorgeous animal is enjoying the snowy weather while she can.
The zoo wrote on Facebook, "With the temperatures warming up, the rhinos were able to get some snow enrichment as well! Tumani loves crashing through snow piles and testing her all terrain capabilities. The heated barn is always available for warming up, with some after snow treats."
It's so incredible to see a creature that comes from eastern and southern Africa enjoying the freezing snow so much. She may be a huge animal but she plays like an excited kid! I never knew a rhino could be this adorable, but here we are.
Related: Baby Rhino's Adorable Case of the Zoomies Is Impossible to Resist
Facts About Black Rhinos
The zoo website explains, "The eastern black rhino is critically endangered with less than 1,000 individuals remaining combining wild and captive populations. Between 1970 and 1992, the wild population of this species has decreased by 96 percent. Rhinos are poached for their horns which are falsely perceived to have medicinal value in some cultures and for ornamental carvings."
Black rhinos can run up to 35 miles an hour, and it almost seems like Tumani would have kept going if she had more room to run in the snow!
Due to their size and deadly horns, these animals have no natural predators (except humans) and they also live a sort of lonely life, only coming together to mate. Female rhinos are more social than male rhinos. In captivity these amazing animals live to be about 45 years old.
The International Rhino foundation explains, black rhinos are not black. The species probably derives its name as a distinction from the white rhino and/or from the dark-colored local soil that covers its skin after wallowing in mud.
If you would like to lean how you can help this incredible, critically endangered species, a good place to start is by visiting the website for the International Rhino Foundation. There you can lean more facts about these animals and how you can make a donation.
If you would like to visit beautiful Tumani at the Blank Park zoo before all the snow melts, you can find hours for the zoo and information here.
Looking for more PetHelpful updates? Follow us on YouTube for more entertaining videos. Or, share your own adorable pet by submitting a video, and sign up for our newsletter for the latest pet updates and tips.
