Gauhati shares a tip at S.F. ZooFest

On the way from the reception to dinner at ZooFest, an annual fundraiser for the San Francisco Zoo, we passed a rhinoceros. Gauhati ,a greater one-horned rhino, was standing at the edge of his habitat, next to a keeper — his personal cater waiter — feeding him leaves from a bunch of Swiss chard (not romaine lettuce, he assured us).

Although you could see the mighty “root” at the base of his horn, near the top of his forehead, the body of the horn had been filed away by Gauhati rubbing his head against the rough surface of the rocks and concrete wall of his enclosure. The horn, said the keeper, is of the same material as human fingernails, so you could see that this would easily happen. The green markings on Gauhati’s body were paint from a freshly painted mural he had rubbed against. So apparently, he gets a kick out of massaging his body with a variety of materials.

Watching him enjoy his salad, it was obvious that his other sensory pleasures included eating. He has a wrinkly neck, unpearly teeth, a midsection that couldn’t be described as delicate, eyes a little smaller than might be indicated for classic beauty. So I could see at once that we had a lot in common.

Perhaps this is why we go to the zoo, in search of connection to the other creatures with which we share the planet.

This fundraising party was to honor Marie and Barry Lipman, zoo benefactors whose Lipman Family Madagascar Center is set to open in 2019. Invited onstage, the Lipmans were euphoric, gracious, humble, obviously relishing the appreciation of their generosity.

But my own personal honoree was Gauhati, who’d been trained, said his keeper, to cooperate with humans in order to let them tend to his medical needs. When the keeper tapped his stick, Gauhati raised one foot and placed it on the concrete rim of his enclosure, a movement that, on a regular day, would allow his pedicurist access to his toenails. Everyone knows you don’t get a mani-pedi in public, especially at a party, but doing it at ZooFest allowed the keeper to more easily feed him a leaf.

As a professional partygoer, I watched closely, absorbing a lesson applicable to my next encounter with a waiter bearing a tray of canapes.

⏩ The immense floating island of plastic trash in the Pacific Ocean is growing, according to recent reports, despite Benicia artist Mike Wittels doing his best not to add to it. All materials in Wittels’ sculptures are made out of discarded plastic — bottles, disposable razors, grocery bags, Styrofoam, credit card samples — treated by heat gun that transforms their shapes. Wittels describes his work as “Global Warming: Cause and Effect.” If warming continues, says the artist, “maybe the whole world will look like my studio.” That studio will be open on Saturday-Sunday, May 5-6 (more information at www.michaelwittels.com).

⏩ Don Bleu, who is retired from radio, has unwittingly become a teacher. The national anthem was scheduled to be played at a Knights of Columbus banquet honoring first responders, but there was a hitch and it wasn’t heard, says Bleu, who was emceeing the event. Attendees were already standing, fidgety and silent, when Bleu turned to them and said, “If only one woman had been involved in the planning of this event, it would have gone flawlessly.” The Knights are an all-male organization.

⏩ Even the fashion periodical W got in a comment on the White House Correspondents Dinner, saying all the criticism of Michelle Wolf was overkill. But best was W’s description of the event itself, which it said is “like the Met Gala of D.C., except the dress code theme is always ‘a tribute to Barbara Walters.’ ” Meanwhile, Art Poretz suspects that the commander in chief has developed “a little known ‘vulpine allergy’ spread by people who get under his skin. Now, Michelle Wolf joins Michael Wolff and Wolf Blitzer in the pack.”

PUBLIC EAVESDROPPING

“Being on Instagram and not being on Facebook is like being a vegan and having bacon on your salad.” Woman at Piperade, overheard by The Chronicle’s Owen Thomas

Leah Garchik is open for business in San Francisco, (415) 777-8426. Email: lgarchik@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @leahgarchik