Rhinoceros living in a Danish zoo uses a thick tree branch as his own personal nail file to buff up his horn.
The 13-year-old white male rhino – originally born in France – now spends his days at the Zoologisk Have, in Frederiksberg, Denmark.
Zoo staff recently filmed the rhino going through one of his beauty routines to keep his horn in tip-top shape.
An unnamed member of staff told Newsflash: “At first, he is simply scratching his lips, but then he is shaping his horn to make it more pointy.
“The inner part of the horn is denser and harder than the outside bit.
“This means that by scraping the outside softer portion against abrasive surfaces the horn gets more cone-shaped.”
When out in the wild, rhinos will often use rocks to achieve the cone shape.
Zoo staff said that rhinos also enjoy scratching their entire bodies.
For health and well-being, rhinos will wallow, mud-bathe, and dust-bathe, the staff explained.
They added: “In addition, they scratch against things, and in the wild oxpeckers (a bird species) will further help to remove parasites etc.
“Here in the Zoo, jackdaws have taken over part of this role.”
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Story By: Simona Kitanovska, Sub-Editor: Marija Stojkoska, Agency: Newsflash
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