By David Bolling
Have you ever scratched a rhinoceros behind the ear?
Probably not. Given the popular perception of rhinos, petting one might sound almost as risky as kissing a crocodile on the lips.
But then, you haven’t met Ozzy, a southern white rhino born at Safari West on July 22, 2025. That makes Ozzy something over seven months old, with an estimated weight of 800 pounds. And yet he is remarkably mellow and not averse to human touch.
His still attentive mother, Eesha – a 20-year old southern white rhino – weighs substantially more – about 5,000 pounds. And with her maternal instincts, plus a two-foot-long front horn, impulsive acts of human affection do carry some risk.
Ozzy’s arrival, and his healthy growth, are cause for celebration because, while the numbers of white rhinos are rebounding, as a species they remain at risk. Four of the five rhino species are threatened with extinction, and three species are now listed as critically endangered, meaning they could disappear in our lifetime.
White rhinos are divided into two subspecies – Northern and Southern. The northern white rhinos are functionally extinct; the last male died in 2018, leaving two females in a protected game preserve in Kenya.
Southern white rhinos are the most populous species, with an estimated 15,700 alive in the wild. But in the early 1900s the population had dropped below 100, largely due to uncontrolled trophy hunting by European colonials. Over time, the population recovered and, by 2012, had reached 21,000 animals.
Then the population suffered another plunge, as black market poachers took a terrible toll, fueling the traditional Chinese medicine market and increasingly supplying the demand for rhino horn powder – particularly in Vietnam – in response to the erroneous belief it is an effective aphrodisiac.
All of this makes Ozzy an important part of the international effort to keep the species viable and genetically diverse. His father, Ongava, a 29-year old southern white rhino on loan from the Indianapolis Zoo, is in residence at Safari West, doing his part to preserve the species.
Ozzy, by sheer chance, was born on the same day that famed British rocker Ozzy Osbourne (Black Sabbath) and American TV personality (The Osbournes) passed away, hence the baby rhino’s name. It’s a rare tribute to live on in the body of a rhino. Interestingly, when surrounded by five fawning humans offering him handfuls of green grass to lure him into a photo pose while scratching behind his ears, Ozzy the rhino periodically emitted a high, almost keening, whispery thread of musical sound, a remarkably fragile note from such a burly body. Was he channeling his namesake?
Safari West, known as the Sonoma Serengeti, is situated on 400 acres, with 900 animals, 90 species, including a lot of giraffes scattered about, all within 40 minutes of Sonoma. It has been owned and operated by Peter and Nancy Lang as a private wildlife preserve for more than 35 years. Of important note, the Langs (he is 85, she is 75) have planned for their succession with the creation of a nonprofit, public benefit corporation, the newly-formed Safari West Zoological Society. All historic operations will continue, including safari tours in open trucks, and overnight stays in Safari tents, as well as expanded wild animal conservation, research and education.
For more information go to safariwest.com. Be sure to say hi to Ozzy. And maybe hum a few bars from “Dreamer.”
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