Peculiar scents are wafting over Werribee Open Range Zoo’s 45-hectare Savannah habitat, causing a stir among the zoo’s crash of Southern white rhinoceros.
Zookeepers are piling up smelly mounds of popcorn, gorilla bedding and rhino poo to stimulate natural behaviours among the giant mammals.
Some of the interesting behaviours include scouting, sparring, vocalising and flehmen response – a physical response that certain mammals use to investigate scents, hormones and pheromones by curling up their top lips and inhaling.
Savannah keeper Alison Edwards said the three rhinoceros perceive the piles of scents as a precious commodity.
“This type of enrichment is a really valuable resource and something that the rhinos love,” Ms Edwards said.
“We sometimes see our female rhino, Make, pushing male rhino, Kifaru, off a scent pile using her horn. She then follows with a big open-mouth roar, which emulates the way that rhinos communicate with each other in the wild.
“The clashing of horns is something we call sparring. It’s a really important tool for rhinos to work out who’s the boss and what the pecking order is amongst the group, without doing any damage.”
The fresh scents also encourage Kifaru to patrol the zoo’s savannah, while looking out for competing males.
“We add poo from other male rhinos from a different exhibit,” Ms Edwards said. “In the wild, male rhinos mark a territory with their scat and urine and will defend their territory and female herd members. Suddenly these smells appear and Kifaru senses other rhinos that might pose a threat to his territory or come in to steal his girls.”
Visitors to the zoo can see the crash of rhinoceroses while on one of the savannah bus tours, which run throughoutthe day and are included in entry.
There are fewer than 20,000 Southern White Rhinoceros remaining in the wild with populations under
serious threat from illegal and habitat destruction.
The rhinos at Werribee Open Range Zoo form part of a regional breeding program to maintain an insurance population in the fight against extinction.
Zoos Victoria members and Werribee Open Range Zoo visitors are reminded that all tickets must be pre-booked online at zoo.org.au
