Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message or tell a story, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P took this photo of a handsome Bullfinch at Old Moor Nature Reserve in 2014.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message or tell a story, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P took this photo of a green iguana at Tortuguero in Costa Rica.
I don’t normally post to my blog on Mondays, but as today (22 September) is World Rhino Day I thought I’d bring forward my deadline to share an update on Yorkshire Wildlife Park’s “teenage” superstar…
When a baby Eastern Black Rhinoceros was born at Yorkshire Wildlife Park in January 2024, the management knew they were onto a winner. Great news for species conservation, obviously, but great news too for visitor numbers. I mean, who doesn’t love a baby rhino? The marketing department went into overdrive, and Rocco the Rhino – named after a public vote – quickly became the Park’s pin-up superstar. The only problem was that, for us at least, Rocco proved to be disappointingly elusive.
Now nearly 20 months old, Rocco clearly enjoys his food!
Mrs P and I visited the Park several times during the 18 months after the birth, and top of our wish list was always a sighting of Rocco, who was – to judge from the publicity photos – the epitome of armoured cuteness. But we were always disappointed. Instead of roaming their enormous paddock. Rocco and his mum and dad were holed up in their indoor quarters and therefore visible to visitors only via a grainy CCTV system. When we asked about the best time to see him, we were told that the doors to the rhinos’ outside world opened at 11:30am, but it was up to Rocco and his parents to decide whether or not they wanted to come out.
The marketing department went into overdrive, and Rocco the Rhino – named after a public vote – quickly became the Park’s pin-up superstar
We were also advised that sometimes the doors would remain closed beyond the 11:30am deadline to give Rocco’s mum Najuma a much needed rest. Rocco, we were told, was an energetic and demanding calf who was causing his poor mother a good deal of stress, and the keepers felt it was important to consider her welfare as well as the needs of the infant rhino. Fair enough, I suppose, but it was unfortunate that Rocco was never out and about when we were visiting the Park.
This video, made by staff at Yorkshire Wildlife Park at the end of March 2024, provides the view of Rocco that we sadly never got to enjoy!
But at last, just a couple of weeks ago, we finally caught up with Rocco in person. At last! The only downside of this encounter was that Rocco is no longer the cute little calf we had been longing to see. He’s now around 20 months old, and his build and bulk more closely resemble that of his poor old mum. To put it into human terms, I suppose he’s now a sturdy teenager. Impressive? Yes, definitely. Cute? No, sadly those days are gone for good.
Rocco trailing close behind his long-suffering mum Najuma
Putting aside our disappointment at missing out on his cute phase, Rocco’s birth gives cause for celebration. Najuma and Rocco’s dad Makibo came to Yorkshire Wildlife Park in 2018 as part of an international breeding programme to save the species, which is classed as critically endangered. Here’s what the Park’s website has to say about its plight:
Eastern Black Rhinos are the rarest of the 3-remaining subspecies. Between 1970 and 1992, their population declined by 96% to 2300 from a devastating period of poaching for their horns…Thanks to global conservation efforts, Black Rhino numbers have steadily risen to around 6000 individuals. The European Breeding Programme currently holds around 100 individuals in various wildlife parks and zoos.
Source: Yorkshire Wildlife Park website, retrieved on 8 September 2025
Rocco follows Najuma everywhere!
It’s good to know that ethically responsible organisations like Yorkshire Wildlife Park are doing their bit to support the conservation of this wonderful species. Finally catching up with Rocco, after so many missed opportunities, was a big thrill. Hopefully before too long he’ll have a brother or sister, and if he does we will visit the Park regularly in the hope of spotting the new arrival before it grows too big to be cute!
No longer a calf, Rocco’s growing up fast!
Of course, there are many other species – including several conservation priorities – living at the Park. The following photos offer a glimpse of some that we encountered on our recent visit. Maybe I’ll write at length about these species in future posts to this blog?
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Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P took this photo of a White-Bellied Sea Eagle on the Arthur River in Tasmania, Australia in 2016.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P took these photos of meerkats at the Yorkshire Wildlife Park.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P photographed this Yellow-throated Euphonia in Costa Rica in 2015.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P photographed this grisly encounter between two iguanas in Costa Rica in January 2014.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. We encountered this tiny Red-eyed Tree Frog in Costa Rica in January 2014.
At last, as the weather starts to improve, we take out first tentative steps back into nature. Poolsbrook Country Park, just a few miles from where we live, is a good place to start. Created on the site of a colliery that closed down in 1986, today Poolsbrook boasts a mosaic of habitats including lakes, wet grassland, wildflower hay meadows, woodland and hedgerows, all carefully managed for the benefit of wildlife. I have written previously about the Country Park’s history and key features.
We go to Poolsbrook quite often, and know what to expect. Our first visit of 2025 does not disappoint. All the usual suspects are on show, including Coot, Mallard, Great Crested Grebe and the inevitable Canada Geese. There are no rarities, but who cares – it’s just good to be out watching birds again after a long, miserable winter.
But what’s that? Cruising on the lake alongside a flotilla of Mallards is a duck we’ve never seen before. The head and neck are an iridescent blue-green colour, while the cheeks are white and the bill is bluish grey with a black tip. The breast is barred white and black, the flanks are orange-brown and the back is dark grey with white streaks.
We spend a lot of time watching birds in wetland habitats, and can readily identify most that we encounter. But this guy is a total mystery. Somehow it looks like a mixture of several other species, and we debate whether it’s some sort of weird hybrid. More research is clearly required, so as soon as we get back home we consult Professor Google.
The good professor reveals the truth. Our mystery bird is neither a natural hybrid nor the result of an unfortunate accident in a bio-lab. Instead, our investigation reveals it to be a Chiloé Wigeon. We learn that it is a very long way from home. Also known as the Southern Wigeon, the Chiloé Wigeon is native to southern parts of South America, its name coming from an archipelago lying off the coast of Chile.
Being relatively easy to care for, it appears that the Chiloé Wigeon is a popular bird in exotic wildfowl collections. The bird at Poolsbrook must be an escapee from one of these collections – it plainly has not arrived in this country naturally.
Further research reveals that the Poolsbrook bird has been in residence for well over a year. How did we miss it during all our previous visits, we wonder?
On reflection, I don’t know how I feel about seeing this unexpected bird on one of our local reserves. On the one hand, it is of course exciting to encounter a species that we will never see on its home territory, particularly as it is clearly thriving at the Country Park.
On the other hand, I can’t help thinking the bird might be better off back in South America, where it would be amongst its own kind and have the opportunity to breed. That, sadly, will not happen here and our Chiloé Wigeon will be unable to pass on its genes. Hopefully, however, it will continue to do well alongside its Mallard cousins at Poolsbrook. We’ll be sure to look out for it next time we visit.
Wordless Wednesday is a simple blog post featuring a photo. It seeks to convey a message, but speaks for itself without using words. Mrs P took this photo of a Grizzly Bear snacking on salmon at Brooks Falls in Alaska in 2009
Now I'm 64 