Last Chance to See

2010-05-10 13:39:45 posted by Polly McClure
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Back in March, I wrote about the crucial new breeding programme being introduced at the Ol Pejeta  Conservancy for  the northern white rhinos.  Their plight is once again in the spotlight, the latest episode of Last Chance to See continues Stephen Fry and Mark Carwardine search for animals on the edge of extinction - the 'Northern White Rhino' is on at 10.00am on Tuesday 11th May on Eden.  The general consensus among those in the know is that it is now extinct in the wild.   Unfortunately, a deadly cocktail of poaching, civil unrest and corruption has lead to its tragic demise.

The northern white rhino is the second largest land animal on the planet, after the elephant. Weighing as much as 2.7 tonnes and towering as high as 1.8 metres at the shoulder, it is really big.  A surprising fact that you may not know is that the white rhino is not in fact white, it’s actually grey – its description got lost in translation.  'White' is apparently a mistranslation of the Afrikaans word 'weit', which means 'wide'.  The Afrikaners were referring to the rhino's mouth, so the rhino with the wide mouth ended up being called the white rhino!!!

Our Kenya Safari – Wildlife Adventure includes a visit to the Ol Pejeta Conservancy, and there may be an opportunity to see these extraordinary mammals in real life.

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