58 Just like Manny, Sita makes her
way over to her gate as she sees us approach, but unlike her male counterpart she is visibly nervous. However, her love of fruit soon outweighs any fears and as the bag opens she decides to take the plunge and pop her head through the bars. “In the wild, black rhinos eat grass and leaves which they strip using their effective v-shaped mouths,” Brian explains. The team at the zoo tries to replicate the rhino’s natural eating habits as much as possible, but once a day they get treated to this fruity feast. You need to be 16 to do this experience, but there’s no upper age limit and they often have 80-year-olds in the paddock. Brian says it’s the younger people who ask sensible questions and often the older visitors who come out with real corkers: “I’ve had people ask if they can go in to the actual enclosure and run around with them; one lady wanted to know if we groom them and do their nails!” The rhino’s behaviour this morning has been gentle and receptive and it’s easy to forget they are wild creatures. Brian says he often has to remind people that they have the poten- tial to seriously damage each other and their keepers. “The two of them generally rub along well and, as long as we respect them and stay this side of the gate, they seem to enjoy our presence too,” he says. At that point Sita turns herself around and backs her
rear end into the gate. I look at Brian slightly con- cerned that I’ve offended her with the way I offered the apple! Trying not to giggle he tells me, “She wants her bum scratched!” Well it would be rude not to! Sita soon closes her eyes and almost lifts her back leg in appreciation. She’s as solid as a boulder and her skin is as rough as sandpaper. After a few minutes she gives a relaxed grunt and disappears off round the corner, and that was that! Next it was the turn of the giant tortoises with train-
ee reptile keeper Jack. He looks after six mischievous tortoises. All in their mid-30s, you might expect them to be settling down, but with a life expectancy of 120 they’re still just teenagers in tortoise years! With this experience you actually climb into the enclosure and children as young as eight can take part. First up it’s Elvis. At 220kg he’s the biggest of the bunch and also the most confident. Forget what you’ve heard about tortoises being slow - when a tasty piece of cucumber is presented, these big fellas can put on an impressive turn of speed! I was surprised what a joy it was to feed
these huge creatures, whom I thought might seem a bit tame after the
We walk around making sure each tortoise
gets a treat and a scratch
rhinos. They seem to smile as they approach and it’s fascinating to find them truly holding my gaze with their large brown eyes. Jack says they definitely perk up when someone not in a zoo uniform comes into their space, as they know it means a treat. We move onto Miley - named after the singer Miley Cyrus, she’s a little promiscuous with the boys. Jack says she sidles up to her male friends when she’s in the mood. She isn’t backwards
in coming forwards when it comes to gulping down the cucumber sticks either! Jack says these tortoises are from the Seychelles and would usually live in scrubland and mangrove swamps. You can tell he’s fond of the creatures. He
says each one has a personality and smiles as he ex- plains that every now and again one of them will creep up behind him and nudge him for a neck scratch! We walk around making sure each tortoise gets a treat and a scratch, and then it’s back to the grass for them and home to the cat for me. If you are after an unusual Christmas present for someone, the rhino experience is £79 and the giant tortoise one is £59, both include a day entry to the park. Go to
www.paigntonzoo.co.uk
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