Buffalo Zoo Welcomes Rhino Patrick From Bronx Zoo

The nearly two-ton, 5-year-old one-horned rhinoceros is acclimating before being introduced to guests.

Updated on Nov. 12, 2026 in Wildlife

Large grey rhinoceros standing in a bare dirt yard beside a concrete wall on a cold, overcast winter day, illustrating a new arrival settling into a zoo enclosure. — The Buffalo Zoo received Patrick, a nearly two-ton, five-year-old one-horned rhinoceros, from the Bronx Zoo as a breeding recommendation, and he is acclimating before guests can see him. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

Buffalo Zoo has received Patrick, a 5-year-old one-horned rhinoceros weighing nearly two tons, from the Bronx Zoo. Patrick is acclimating to his new home and is not yet viewable to guests.

Why it matters

The move was made as a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan. The zoo hopes Patrick will eventually breed with Georgia, a 5-year-old female rhinoceros already at the Buffalo Zoo.

Patrick weighs nearly two tons and is 5 years old. The wild one-horned rhino population has grown from around 200 in the early 1900s to about 4,000 today, but the source does not specify when Patrick will be introduced to guests.

The players

Buffalo Zoo

The Buffalo Zoo is a zoo in Buffalo, New York, that houses animals including the rhinoceroses Patrick and Georgia.

Association of Zoos and Aquariums

The Association of Zoos and Aquariums is a professional accrediting organization for zoos and aquariums that runs species conservation programs such as the Species Survival Plan.

The details

Patrick recently moved from the Bronx Zoo to Buffalo as part of a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan. He is acclimating to his new home before being introduced to the public, and the zoo will share updates on when that will happen.

Patrick arrived at the Buffalo Zoo recently, from the Bronx Zoo.

Culture Shift

The move follows a breeding recommendation from the Association of Zoos and Aquariums' Species Survival Plan, a coordinated program that manages captive populations across accredited zoos. It reflects how Buffalo's zoo is participating in coordinated breeding rather than keeping animals in isolation.

Visitors to the Buffalo Zoo will be able to see Patrick once he is introduced to the public, though no date has been announced. Updates on his introduction will come from the zoo.

The takeaway

Coordinated breeding programs like the Species Survival Plan help sustain endangered species, and the wild one-horned rhino population has risen from about 200 to around 4,000 since the early 1900s.