MY WILD HINO ADVENTURE
Jack usually looks after the majestic beasts at Folly Farm but he wanted to see them in their natural environment
ARHINO keeper who looks after the majestic animals at a zoo in Wales has had the chance to go and learn more about the endangered animals in their natural habitat.
Jack Gradidge, 24, was able to travel to Indonesia on a rhino expedition to learn more about the conservation and research of the Javan and Sumatran rhinos.
Jack, a rhino keeper at Folly Farm in Pembrokeshire, is more used to looking after rhinos in captivity.
He is responsible for two eastern black rhinos, Manyara and Nkosi, at the zoo’s enclosure Kifaru Reserve.
The reserve is home to their “crash”, or group, of Eastern black rhinos, who easily claim the title of the heavyweights of the Folly Farm family.
Manyara, 18, a female, joined Folly Farm from Chester Zoo in October 2015, while Nkosi, five, the breeding male, joined them from Port Lympne Reserve in Kent in the same month.
There are plans to have a third rhino – a breeding female – this year, with the hope of expanding the group in future.
But Jack’s trip to Indonesia made for a very different experience from his day-to-day job.
Funding his trip himself, he travelled to Singapore and two Indonesian islands – Java and Sumatra – with keepers from the Aspinall Foundation, in an effort to learn as much as they could about the Asian rhinos.
Jack, who lives in Pembroke, said: “The rhino keepers at the Aspinall Foundation were going to the International Elephant and Rhino Conservation and Research Symposium hosted by Singapore Zoo. I decided to join them and visit a few national parks.
“We organised a four-day expedition in Java, where we spent time with local rangers chatting all things rhino.
“There are said to be only 63 Javan rhinos left in the wild. The rangers have identified all 63 rhinos at the Ujung Kulonl Nationall Parkk using camera traps and each now has a name.
“We patrolled the parks and spent time tracking the wild animals, looking at their footprints, mud wallows and trails of poo. We were on a canoe travelling down a river and actually heard a rhino crashing through the forest.”
The trip also saw them travel to Sumatra, where there are just 100 Sumatran rhinos left in the wild. Their population is fragmented, which means they can’t reach others to breed.
“We visited a semi-wild reserve in the Way Kambas National Park, where we got to meet four of the seven rhinos including a small calf, Delilah – just six months old.
“This was great, as we’re expecting a breeding female to join the two rhinos at Folly Farm next year and hope to hear the pitter-patter of tiny rhino feet in the future.
“The whole experience was just amazing, I’ve learned so much and will be able to feed back to the keepers and visitors at Folly Farm about the pressure the world’s rhinos are facing.
“I’m so passionate about their conservation – I want to learn as much as possible.”
Jack joined Folly Farm in 2014 after he’d finished his animal management degree at Sparsholt College in Win- chesterh and dh has alreadyl dyd visited Taronga Western n Plains Zoo in Australia.
“I don’t know what hat it is about rhinos – they’ree just so sensitive, and surprisinglyprisingly affectionate. I’ve alwaysys loved animals.
“When I returned fromrom being away for three weeks eeks the rhinos were a bit grumpympy as if to say ‘where have youu been?’ but soon warmed up after a few w hours.
“They love attention on – especially Nkosi, who rolls over to be scratched and likes a good belly rub.
“Manyara’s a bit moreore reserved but she does love showers, especially when it’s hot.
“They’re also incredibly intelligent animals. Manyara has been doing some target training where she has to touch a ball on a stick to get a treat and she’s also been doing some mouth training so it’s easier for us to get to their teeth and check their oral health.
“They have a very strange mouth with hooked lips that helps them browse the trees and shrubs and huge teeth to crush the branches.”
Jack said: “When you get to work with such amazing animals it doesn’t feel like a job at all. The best part is seeing the animals content and happy.”