Our white rhinos have been under close watch over recent months. In order to ensure their wellbeing, we monitored them and their behaviour before, during and after the construction of our brand new ride, Pterodactyl.

Visitors to the park are in for an extra thrill here at Flamingo Land with our brand new ride, Pterodactyl. On this thrilling, high altitude, swooping ride you can get a great view of the Lost Kingdom (if you can keep your eyes open). You are able to see the tall necks of the giraffes, the grazing zebras, the remarkable dinosaur-like ostriches and the rumbling rhinos. It is these white rhinos that were under close scrutiny over the last few months, with research being carried out on them and their behaviour before, during and after the construction of the new ride. As Pterodactyl is close to the rhino quarters, zoo staff wanted to ensure that the new thrill was not affecting their behaviour.

So how do we go about such a study? First we need to record the behaviour of the rhino before any construction work starts. Researchers set up a look-out point to gather as much data as possible, such as time spent grazing, use of space in the enclosure, and social behaviour between our two males. This information gathering continued throughout construction, during safety trials of the new ride and the opening weeks. The researchers also interviewed the zoo keepers who look after the rhinos on a daily basis to see if they had noticed any change in behaviour. As with parents and their kids, our keepers are acutely aware of any changes in behaviour when it comes to our animals.

The information was then analysed and no changes in enclosure usage or behaviour were seen in our two fantastic males, meaning the new ride – with all its screaming occupants – didn’t bother them at all! They can be seen happily wallowing in the mud and grazing in the paddock to their hearts’ content!