While many of us were still grappling with our New Year’s resolutions and just how committed we really were to keeping them, our ambassador Chris Green, better known as Rhino Boy Chris, was already halfway up a mountain in a full rhino costume.
Mount Kilimanjaro to be precise. Africa’s highest peak at 5,895 metres above sea level.
Chris is no stranger to ambitious challenges, already holding the Guinness World Record for most marathons run in the same three-dimensional costume (over 120!), but for 2026, he wanted to do something a little different and push himself even further. This year, he decided to climb Africa’s tallest peak – in full rhino costume to raise awareness of the threats rhinos face and raise valuable funds to support rhino conservation.
Chris’s epic challenge carries a powerful legacy. In 1994, the very same (now-famous) rhino costume scaled Kilimanjaro for the first time when our founders, together with Douglas Adams and Kenyan conservationist Michael Werikhe, trekked from Mombasa to the roof of Africa to shine a spotlight on the rhino poaching crisis. While the conservation landscape may look a little different today (22,540 rhinos in the world in 2024 vs just 9,494 in 1994), the issues they face have not changed. Rhinos face two key threats: Illegal wildlife trade, driven by international organised crime networks exploiting rhinos and people for profit; since 2006, nearly 13,000 rhinos have been killed by international organised crime syndicates. And the huge pressure on natural landscapes, impacting space and habitats for rhinos to live, breed, and in turn, increase their numbers.
However, as the numbers show, we can make a difference. For rhinos to thrive, we need dedicated, long-term action, underpinned by science.
Chris didn’t just climb a mountain; he took the message to millions. Appearing on BBC Breakfast, he spoke passionately about why rhinos still need our support and how ordinary people can get involved. Through actions like Chris’s, raising awareness during prime-time TV and putting himself through challenges to raise funds, we can all make a difference to reach this goal.
As an incredibly ambitious person, Chris has set himself the target of raising £50,000 to support rhino conservation in Africa and Asia, and he is so close to his target. If you have been inspired by Rhino Boy Chris’s superhuman efforts, then please help support the cause and donate today.
