World Rhino Day Celebrated with Art Auction

Each year on September 22, World Rhino Day is celebrated as a chance to raise awareness about the plight of rhinos in the wild and the rise of rhinoceros poaching.

Disney Imagineer Joe Rhode, Chad Norman, and Sue Ellis at the event

Chad Harmon, a Disney cast member who works on the Kilimanjaro Safari at Disney's Animal Kingdom started a non-profit called The Horns and Heroes Project which combines the conservation of rhinos with the creativity of artists.

The organization sponsors an event each year that features an auction of art. The first event in 2012 included 50 Orlando-area artists and raised $6,000 for the International Rhino Foundation.

This year more than 70 artists decorated rhino busts for the auction. Disney Imagineer Joe Rhode created his own artwork that was showcased during the event. Another rhino bust was created by Zoological Manager Steve Lefave and it received a bid of $900, the highest at the event.

This year's art auction had more than 400 attendees and raised more than $23,000 for the International Rhino Foundation.

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