Rhinos are heavy, quiet and easy to miss in the bush. They are also one of Kenya's biggest conservation stories. This post gives you a few plain facts and a good ending.
Two kinds in Africa
Africa has two kinds of rhino: the black rhino and the white rhino. Both have two horns. Kenya is known for protecting black rhinos.
Their colour is not the main difference. Their mouths are. The black rhino has a pointed upper lip, shaped a bit like a triangle. It uses the point to grab leaves, buds and shoots from bushes and trees.
The white rhino eats grass on open savanna instead. Ask your child to guess which one has the pointed lip. Then look at pictures together.
What a horn is made of
A rhino's horn is made of keratin. Keratin is also what your hair and nails are made of. A horn is not bone and does not have special powers.
That is worth saying out loud to a child. Some people hunt rhinos for their horns because of false beliefs. The horn does the same job on a rhino as a nail does on a finger.
Black rhinos in Kenya
The black rhino is listed as Critically Endangered. That is a very high risk of disappearing. In the 1980s Kenya had fewer than 400 of them.
Today the Kenya Wildlife Service says there are more than 1,000. That is a big gain, and it came from years of work by rangers, sanctuaries and conservation groups. WWF reports that Kenya aims for 2,000 black rhinos by 2037.
It is a good story to tell a child. It shows that careful work can help an animal in trouble.
Our rhinos
Our rhinos are crocheted by hand in Nairobi from recycled acrylic yarn. They are light blue or brown, with cream horns.
Rhinos that are plain, with no clothes or extras, have zero plastic and nothing detachable. You can clean them easily by following the care guide. Stay close when a young child plays.
A talking game
Put a rhino and an elephant side by side. Ask your child to describe how they differ, in as many ways as they can.
- One has a trunk and one has horns.
- One has big ears and one has small ears.
- One has tusks and one has a horn made of keratin.
Count the answers together. There is no wrong total. The point is to look closely and say what you see.
A gift for a rhino fan
If a child in your family loves rhinos, a crocheted rhino is a simple gift. The Gift Finder asks a few questions and suggests animals by occasion. The Size Finder helps with the size.
From fewer than 400 to more than 1,000 in a few decades is a number a child can say aloud with pride.
