PJ is only 7 years old but already he exhibits some typical teen behaviors: He’s stubborn, a picky eater and a loner.
He may have the perfect excuse: PJ is the Central Florida Zoo’s only rhinoceros. He has a pretty luxurious suite in Sanford complete with a pond, a private bathroom and toys including a yellow barrel that he likes to put his head in and toss around.
The greater one-horned Indian rhino is also a star. The 4,500-pound PJ headlines the thrice-daily Rhinoceros Encounters, where visitors can pet him, watch the almost six-foot-tall bull (the name of a male rhino) roam and ask questions of zoo workers.
PJ’s relatives in the wild aren’t faring as well. The Indian one-horned is considered vulnerable with only 3,300 left in the world. At the end of the 20th century, there were 200.
Amanda Mossor, who cares for PJ, credits conservation — some areas have armed guards — and protection of orphan rhinos for the “steady but increasing” upswing. Humans pose the biggest threat for the mammals, which have no natural predators.
The zoo hopes to raise public awareness when it celebrates World Rhino Day on Sept. 22 from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. near PJ’s enclosure. Games and activities are included in admission, and paintings by PJ will be for sale.
Back at the encounter, PJ is patient as a visitor touches him. His bumpy, brownish-gray skin — 1 ½ inches deep in spots — is mostly hairless and feels like tree bark. His skin folds resemble plates of armor and his upper lip is semi-prehensile, allowing PJ to grasp branches and leaves.
He eats 100 pounds of food a day including a mixture of alfalfa, vitamins and minerals, three buckets of fruits and vegetables (he’s partial to bananas and dislikes melons), and hay. He doesn’t see well, but PJ’s hearing and sense of smell are keen.
He uses his horn — made of keratin, the same protein found in fingernails — to forage for food. When he is fully grown, between 8 and 10 years old, he could weigh as much as 5,500 pounds (he arrived at the zoo in 2013, weighing 1,696 pounds). His horn, now seven inches long, could be as long as 10 inches. If PJ was a fighter, he would use his mouth’s four tusks as weapons.
Mossor, 23, who has cared for PJ for about a year, also tends to giraffes, wart hogs and the occasional chicken. It’s a “dream job,” she said.
Rhinoceros Encounter
What: Up-close with PJ, a greater one-horned Indian rhino
Where: Central Florida Zoo & Botanical Gardens, 3755 W. Seminole Blvd., Sanford
When: 11:30 a.m., 11:50 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. daily
Cost: $15; zoo admission required ($19.50 adults, $15.95 60-plus, $13.75 children 3-12, free for children 2 and under)
Details: centralfloridazoo.org
Where else to see rhinos
In addition to the Central Florida Zoo, rhinos can be seen at the following attractions:
►Brevard Zoo in Melbourne has its own (white) Rhino Encounter with twice-daily tours ($19.95 up-charge). Details: brevardzoo.org
►Busch Gardens Tampa Bay offers a Rhino Endangered Species Tour ($49.99 up-charge, reservations recommended). Details: buschgardens.com
►Disney’s Animal Kingdom has a herd (known as a crash) of white rhinos and black rhinos at Kilimanjaro Safaris (included in theme-park admission). Details: disneyworld.disney.go.com
