Thirty-eight giraffes and four rhinoceros landed at Tianjin Airport on Oct 25 on flight number ET3684, a chartered airplane for living animals. This was the first time the rhinoceros had flown.

Workers at Tianjin Airport unload the animals from the airplane. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

Rhinoceros are grumpy but aggressive animals with poor eyesight, so they are caged in specially made metal boxes. On the other hand, giraffes are animals with strong senses; they are always alert and easily scared. Both animals needed a stable environment to make them feel at ease during the transfer.

Giraffes on the chartered plane. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

The newcomers will undergo physical examinations next week (Oct 31 to Nov 4) and then be sent to local zoos in China, such as the Guizhou and the Nanjing zoo.

The first flight for an African rhinoceros, bound for Tianjin. [Photo/enorth.com.cn]

So far, there are about 20,000 rhinoceros in Africa, accounting for 80 percent of the total number in the world. The four freshers will become favorites in Chinese zoos and be particularly popular among children.