Kilimanjaro Safaris Question

[davinakb]

A few years ago the vehicle that I was in got stopped by a big rhino that stared us down for about 10 minutes. He wandered in front of our vehicle and stood still, and we just had to wait it out. It was pretty cool (and a little scary ) to have a big mean rhino stare at us like he was going to charge.

We liked our safari when the rhinos got frisky. Made it more exiting. From what I understand the animals are accustomed to the ride vehicles, and as mentioned, only challenge the vehicles when threatened.

I think the chains are (also?) part of the cleaning system, to keep the vehicle tires from tracking stuff from one section of the park to another (that's what I've been told while doing the special giraffe-feeding safari at BG).

 

[Iakona]

We liked our safari when the rhinos got frisky. Made it more exiting. From what I understand the animals are accustomed to the ride vehicles, and as mentioned, only challenge the vehicles when threatened.

I think the chains are (also?) part of the cleaning system, to keep the vehicle tires from tracking stuff from one section of the park to another (that's what I've been told while doing the special giraffe-feeding safari at BG).

I seem to remember being told (on a sunrise safari) that there are white and black Rhinos. One species is much more aggressive.

The chains the trucks drive over are to prevent the hoofed animals from going into other areas of the Savannah (again we were told this when the question was asked on the sunrise safari). From what we were told the hoofed animals do not like the chains and will not cross them.

 

[dreamscometrue]

And, yes, rhinos are herbivores....

They only charge to see if something is a threat (they have very poor vision) or if they think something is a theat. Since they are very used to the safari vehicles, they have no need to charge. (IMHO from working w/ white rhinos at our zoo)

We have protected contact here.....while they might not mean to hurt us, if 4,000 lbs of animal with a large horn accidently bumps you, it can do serious damage!


They are like a combo of a dog, cow and a tank....love them dearly....

Thanks for the photo and the info (and enjoy your trip)!

 

[tunaman68]

I seem to remember being told (on a sunrise safari) that there are white and black Rhinos. One species is much more aggressive.

The easiest way to tell the difference is the upper lip. The blacks have the pointed lip that they can use almost like a finger, and the whites' lip is square much like a cow. They only let you touch and feed the black ones at the Wild Animal park as the whites are supossedly more agressive(?).

Black:

and White:

And yes the chains keep the hoofed guys from crossing. They are a variation of the old-fashioned cattle grate which is a trench in the ground with rail road tracks across them. You can drive a truck on them, but livestock won't cross. It releives a farmer from having to stop the truck, open a gate, drive through the gate, and then stop and close the gate.

Goofymom - dog cow and tank really seems to capture the critter perfectly!! Great pic! They are just the coolest!

 

[KnightRonin]

I'd post my VERY close picture of a Rhino from a trip earlier this year but --
he was evacuating his bladder at the time and the camera caught it in bold, living color.

Classy little herbivore.

A completely accidental camera timing glitch has become the photograph we keep in the album waiting for the inevitable cry of "Holy crap! What the heck is it doing?!?"

 

[tunaman68]

Come on - Post it - now you've got us all curious - (or at least me but I'm a little bit )

 

[DisneyLindz]

KnightRonin,

I laughed so hard when I read your post, that is hysterical! What a classy Disney memory you'll have for the rest of your life! :lol:

 

[Rob562]

And yes the chains keep the hoofed guys from crossing. They are a variation of the old-fashioned cattle grate which is a trench in the ground with rail road tracks across them. You can drive a truck on them, but livestock won't cross. It releives a farmer from having to stop the truck, open a gate, drive through the gate, and then stop and close the gate.

I want to say I've seen a few of those grates in AK, too. Though off the top of my head I can't think where I saw them.

If you'll notice along the Safari ride path, there's also very cleverly hidden gates that I assume they close at night to totally separate the sections of the safari. Some are disguised as part of rocks, others look like timber where a gate *used* to hang...

-Rob

 

[cyberbro]

I just saw an Animal Kingdom show on the travel channel and they said the rhino are f

I just saw an Animal Kingdom show on the travel channel and they said the rhino are free to roam.

Although they appear to be wandering freely, I understand that there are hidden barriers (moats, fences, etc.) on this attraction that keep some of the animals from getting close. No problem with that concept. Everytime I ride, however, we seem to get close to the rhino(s). The last time, we were very close. Are the rhinos somehow cleverly seperated from us, or are they in fact free and not considered any more of a threat than the freely moving giraffes?