‘You’re telling me this fence is supposed to hold that?’: A zoo visitor just blasted their ridiculously flimsy rhinoceros enclosure on TikTok

A Kentucky man’s recent zoo visit went viral after he posted a short TikTok video questioning the absurdly small fence meant to contain a massive rhinoceros. Brian Bishop (@brianbishop13) was checking out the rhino exhibit when he decided to focus less on the majestic animal and more on the seemingly flimsy barrier separating him from it.

When you see wild animals up close, they seem so much more massive than your brain ever anticipates, and seeing a tiny barrier next to that kind of power is definitely unsettling. Bishop captured this feeling perfectly in his 7-second clip, which has already racked up 172,600 views.

He pans across a simple, nailed-together fence, zooms in on the giant creature, and asks, “You’re telling me this fence is supposed to hold in that?”

The video was captioned “Hungry, Hungry, Hippo,” which is a solid, relatable joke, especially since Bishop sounds like he might be talking to his three-year-old child in the background. This isn’t a spooky zoo story or one that ends with anyone hurt, don’t worry, but it will teach you something about rhinos and zoos.

A rhino can destroy a lot of things in its way

It turns out Bishop captured a hilarious “trick of the eye.” The little fence wasn’t the main enclosure at all. As several viewers pointed out, the real barrier was a hidden trench and a retaining wall. Bishop confirmed this detail in a direct message to BroBible, admitting that the camera angles made the enclosure look weak. He said, “People in the comments caught what I did. Camera angles made it seem that there isn’t a drop off, but it was definitely a drop off enough for a rhino to not get out.”

The small fence is actually just there to keep people from tumbling into the pit, not to keep the massive rhino from charging out. That makes a lot more sense, but it’s still funny that the video got such a huge reaction first. Viewers had great reactions to the clip. While it’s easy to joke about whether a flimsy fence can hold a rhino, the bigger reality is that rhinos globally need protection from us more than we need protection from them. This whole viral moment brings up a serious discussion about the conservation status of these amazing creatures.

The population numbers are truly awful. Back in 1900, there were about 500,000 rhinos roaming the planet. Today, we’re down to only 26,699. This huge population loss is driven mainly by poaching, habitat loss, and conflict.

The poaching trade is ruthless and extremely organized because a single rhino horn can be valued at around $45,000. People buy the horns either for traditional Asian medicines or as a luxury status symbol, much like an incredibly rare watch. This high valuation fuels vast criminal networks that are often intertwined with illegal weapons sales.

The threat is so constant and severe that some zoos and sanctuaries have taken the drastic step of dehorning their rhinos to save their lives. This practice actually works incredibly well, which is great news for conservationists. According to Save the Rhino, throughout the 1990s, zero dehorned rhinos were poached in Namibia. Even better, in the Greater Kruger region of South Africa, dehorning helped enable a 78% reduction in poaching incidents.