I’ll admit it, I never really found rhinos very cute. It’s probably due to the fact that they are nearsighted, territorial and VERY likely to run you through if they were to encounter you in the wild. That whole thing kind of tainted my world view of them. Though they are allowed to live and thrive… as long as they don’t come to my neighborhood, I’m good. Seeing the baby rhino in this video, though, changed my view a bit.
The star of this video is a 10-week-old rhino who lives in the San Diego Zoo. His name is Taj and he’s walking around the area with what I presume is his mommy. He’s having a blast, trotting around, meeting some other animals, swimming in some water, hanging out with mommy, and eating. This is an easy life for the big fellow – he’s already the size of a very large dog at that young age.
One thing that’s cool is that he really hasn’t developed the horn on his snout. That will grow later. He just seems so laid-back and eager to please the other animals, even going up to a couple of them and sniffing them. His mom just hangs back with a look that seems to say, “My baby likes you… but if you try to hurt him, I’ll gore you so fast you won’t even know what hit you.”
While I’m not a rhino fan, I do abhor the people who hunt them for their horns. These are animals that deserve to live a life with only natural predators. Man is not a natural predator of this species. I hope that their numbers don’t dwindle even further. This video first came out in January 2017, so here’s hoping that this is a positive sign of an upswing in their numbers. Maybe Taj will be the first of many more baby rhinos.
Didn’t you want to go pet Taj? Well, not within distance of his mommy… Have you had any experience with a rhino? Tell us all about it in the comments section!
Share this adorable video with your friends and family on Facebook because it will give them a great big smile… or two… or three! It will make them happy and you, too!
