Event Description

The Rhino Rush 5K is a fundraiser for rhino conservation efforts in Kenya and Southeast Asia. Funds raised at this event will join Bowling for Rhinos, the premier conservation fundraiser of the American Association of Zoo Keepers. Since 1991, Bowling for Rhinos has raised over 7 million dollars for rhino conservation. 100% of the profits from Bowling for Rhinos go to support the Lewa Wildlife Conservancy in Kenya, the International Rhino Foundation in Indonesia, and Action for Cheetahs in Kenya.

Funds are used by these conservation organizations to fence in protected sanctuaries and parks, purchase planes and land rover vehicles to curtail poaching, translocate rhinos into secure sanctuaries and parks, purchase sensor-trip cameras for population counts, purchase GPS transmitters, provide salaries for anti-poaching security guards, support local communities, clinics, and schools, and provide medical care for injured rhinos and orphaned calves, just to name a few.

Bowling for Rhinos funds saves rhino habitat. By preserving habitat, this protects every single species of plant and animal within that habitat. Many species benefit from sharing habitat with rhinos, including plants such as orchids, and animals such as bears, gibbons, cheetahs, elephants, lions, giraffe, zebra, tigers, tapirs, orangutans, leopards, and pangolins.

The Akron Zoo Chapter of AAZK will also be raising money for rhino conservation through a silent auction the morning of the Rhino Rush 5K race.