Rhinoceros unicornis

Heavier than the average family car, rhinos are the world's second largest land animal after the elephant. Appearing ‘armour-plated', their skin is actually soft which they protect by bathing in mud wallows. Known for their single black horn made of hair-like fibres, they are surprisingly quick, charging at 48km per hour.

Young and shy, ‘Dora', Western Plains Zoo's male rhino, arrived from a Japanese Zoo in 2001. The name Dora is Japanese for dragon, which was the name of a local baseball team in Japan. Dora has captured hearts everywhere, arriving with his own special Obi (the belt for a Kimono) hung over his box.