Colchester Zoological Society (CZS) announce that Tayo has arrived safely at his new home in Spain

On Tuesday 10th June 2025, CZS said farewell to their male white rhino, Tayo aged 4 years old, as he began his journey to his new home at Safari Madrid in Spain, where he will be joining a bachelor herd following an EEP recommendation.

The captive Southern white rhinoceros population in Europe is managed as a European Breeding Programme for Endangered Species, also known as an EEP. The European Breeding Programme is vital for the conservation of this species and is run by a single coordinator who then made our recommendation by closely monitoring the captive population and the population genetics.

Since the UK left the EU, animal transfers to Europe have been a challenging process due to extra certification and health checks required. Tayo’s transfer has been two years in the making, but CZS are delighted to report that he has arrived safely in Madrid and is settling in well.

Tayo was born at CZS on 14th October 2020 to mum, Astrid, and dad, Otto. Tayo was Astrid’s first calf and has been an excellent older brother to his sister, Dara, who was born in January 2023.

The Giraffe Team, who also care for a number of other African species including the rhino, said, “Tayo will be deeply missed by all of the Animal Care Team here at CZS, especially as he is the last of the male bloodline of Otto, our late male rhino who sadly passed away in 2024.”

“On the day of departure, Tayo happily entered his transport crate with no problem at all. The team worked closely with Tayo 2 weeks prior to his departure to familiarise him with the crate so when it came to leaving Tayo would be comfortable to walk straight in. It was great to see that all our efforts, including Tayo's, were a success! We are sure that he will enjoy settling into his new home at Safari Madrid!”

The Southern white rhino breeding programme is one of the most successful here at CZS, with 7 calves born since 2009, the most recent being Dara, who was born in January 2023. Their first calf, Zamba, was born via artificial insemination. Since then, the success has been championed by the Zoo’s late male rhino, Otto, who sadly passed away in March 2024.

Southern white rhinos are the largest of the five rhinoceros species and one of the world’s biggest land animals. They come from southern Africa, with smaller populations found in East Africa. Unfortunately, Southern white rhinos are currently classed as ‘Near Threatened’ on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Sadly, there has been an alarming increase in rhino poaching for their horns which continues to have a big impact on their declining population numbers.

Therefore, EEP Breeding Programmes are incredibly important for the overall conservation for this species.