Twenty-five years ago, a young Southern White Rhinoceros arrived at Monarto Safari Park. Her name was Uhura, and she was the first of her kind in South Australia. Alone at first, she was the beginning of what would grow into one of Australia’s most significant contributions to rhino conservation. As we mark the 25th World Rhino Day at Monarto Safari Park, it is Uhura’s story that grounds the celebration in purpose, hope and legacy.

A trailblazer from the start

Uhura arrived at Monarto Safari Park in 2000 from Singapore Zoo. At the time, Monarto was still developing its open-range model. For the first few years, Uhura had the rhino habitat to herself. That allowed keepers to form strong relationships with her and understand what it would take to care for and eventually breed this vulnerable species in South Australia.

Haidee, now Supervisor of Ungulates at the park, remembers those early years vividly. “She had so much one-on-one time with us. She’d come over to say good morning, let us scratch behind her ears and then wander off to sunbathe. She’s always been a people rhino.”

Two years later, seven more Southern White Rhinos joined Uhura from Kruger National Park. The transformation was instant. “It was like she realised she was a rhino, not a human,” says Haidee. “She began to socialise, to form bonds and to thrive as part of a crash.”

A mother and an ambassador

In 2004, Uhura gave birth to Monarto’s first Southern White Rhino calf, a male named Alfie. It was a historic moment not just for the park, but for Australia’s conservation efforts. Uhura took to motherhood immediately. “She was a natural from the very start,” says Haidee. “She’d bring Alfie right up to us in the morning to show him off. Then she’d let him stay with us while she grazed nearby, as if she trusted us completely.”

Her second calf, Jabari, was another male, born a few years later. Like his older brother, Jabari was full of curiosity and quickly became a favourite among visitors. Uhura’s maternal instincts were just as strong with him. Then came Kibibi, a female calf born further down the track. Kibibi now lives at Australia Zoo, where she plays a key role in their breeding program.

“Each calf had their own personality, but Uhura’s parenting was consistent – calm, attentive and patient,” says Haidee. “She gave them independence but always kept a close eye. It’s been an honour to watch her raise them.”

Uhura’s role as a mother is matched by her status as an ambassador. She has played a key role in Monarto Safari Park’s rhino experiences, giving thousands of visitors the chance to connect with her species on a deeply personal level.

“People come in expecting a tank,” says Riley, one of Monarto Safari Park’s Rhino Keepers. “But she leans in for a scratch, she responds to voices, and sometimes she even dozes off while being scratched. That changes people.”

Intelligent, confident and playful

Uhura is no ordinary rhino. She is known for her big personality, her curiosity and her love of water. On hot days, she runs through puddles and splashes under the hose. She tosses cardboard boxes into the air and smashes them open with her horn, searching for hidden treats inside.

“She’s extremely confident,” says Riley. “If we put something new out there, she’s always the first to check it out. She’s playful, she does zoomies in the paddock, and she absolutely loves rolling in the mud.”

Mud is more than just fun. Southern White Rhinos wallow in clay to regulate their temperature and protect their skin from the sun and biting insects. Monarto Safari Park has several purpose-built wallows throughout the rhino habitat, and Uhura takes full advantage of them.

“She doesn’t just roll in the mud – she disappears into it,” says Riley. “She’ll coat herself completely, from her horn to her rump. You’ll see her come out looking like a statue, crusted in clay. It cools her down, acts like sunscreen, and makes her feel great.”

Monarto Safari Park keepers use enrichment tools to keep Uhura stimulated, including soundscapes with African birds and waterfalls, and scented oils hidden throughout her habitat. They even paint her enrichment boxes in black and white, as rhinos have limited colour vision but can distinguish contrasting shades.

Southern White Rhinos are grazing animals, spending up to 12 hours a day consuming grasses. Their role in the ecosystem is often compared to lawnmowers. By trimming grass rather than uprooting it, they help maintain the health of savannahs. Their dung, often deposited in communal middens, acts as both a fertiliser and a communication tool. Bulls, in particular, use these sites to mark territory and assess the status of other rhinos in the area through hormone detection in the dung.

A species under threat

Southern White Rhinos once roamed across vast areas of Africa. By the end of the 19th century, they had been hunted to near extinction. Thanks to conservation efforts, their numbers recovered to around 20,000, but poaching has again taken a heavy toll. It is estimated that more than 500 rhinos are killed each year for their horns, which are made of keratin – the same protein found in human fingernails and hair.

“Poaching is still one of the biggest threats,” says Haidee. “They have one calf every two or three years. So when you’re losing hundreds a year, the maths doesn’t work.”

Rhino horn is falsely believed to hold medicinal properties. In reality, it has no proven benefit and is composed of the same material as human hair and nails. The belief that it can cure illness has no scientific basis, yet demand for rhino horn continues to fuel illegal poaching and trafficking .

At its worst, rhino poaching claimed more than 1,000 lives a year. Today, thanks to increased protection efforts, that number has dropped – but the threat remains.

Monarto Safari Park’s rhino program plays a critical role as an insurance population. If the species were to be wiped out in the wild, rhinos like Uhura and her descendants could be vital to reintroduction efforts.

A future worth fighting for

Today, Monarto Safari Park is home to six Southern White Rhinos living across two vast open-range habitats. One of these areas, in Wild Africa, is accessible on safari tours, offering visitors a chance to see rhinos, giraffes, ostriches and antelope living together as they would in the wild and the other is in the main Park on the Zu-loop.

Visitors can also participate in behind-the-scenes experiences where they meet rhinos like Uhura up close. These encounters are not just educational – they are emotional.

“You see it happen in real time,” says Riley. “People come in with all kinds of assumptions. Then they see how Uhura interacts. How she moves to get a better scratch, how she responds to touch. That moment of connection – that’s what changes minds and encourages people to take conservation action.”

Next year, Uhura turns 30. With rhinos living up to 50 years in managed care, her story is far from over. And as we celebrate a quarter-century of rhino conservation at Monarto Safari Park, we do so knowing that her legacy continues – in every keeper she has worked with, every calf she has raised, and every visitor she has inspired.