Cornelius the First facts for kids
Cornelius the First (died April 3, 2013) was a black rhinoceros who lived at the Granby Zoo in Granby, Quebec, Canada. His name, "Cornelius," was a clever pun because the French word for "horn" is corne.
A Rhino in Politics?
Cornelius was the "leader" of a funny political party in Canada called the Rhinoceros Party of Canada. This party existed from 1965 to 1993. Even though Cornelius was a rhino, the party attracted many votes in Canadian elections, especially in 1979, 1980, and 1984. Sometimes, they even came in second place in some areas! However, they never managed to get a real person elected to the House of Commons of Canada.
The idea for the Rhinoceros Party came from another rhino named Cacareco. Cacareco lived at the São Paulo zoo in Brazil. In 1958, he was a candidate for the city council elections. This was a way for people to protest against political corruption. Even though officials didn't accept Cacareco's candidacy, he still received an amazing 100,000 votes! That was more than any other party in that election. Today, in Brazil, people still use the term "Voto Cacareco" (Cacareco vote) to describe votes given as a protest.
During the Canadian federal election of 1984, the Rhinoceros Party had a very unusual idea. They jokingly declared war on Belgium! Why? Because a Belgian cartoon character, Tintin, had killed a rhinoceros in one of his early comic books. The party offered to call off their "war" if Belgium sent them a case of mussels and a case of Belgian beer. Believe it or not, the Belgian Embassy in Ottawa actually sent the items to the party's "headquarters" in Montreal!
Life in the United States
Later, the Granby Zoo traded Cornelius to the San Diego Zoo in exchange for a giraffe. The San Diego Zoo then loaned Cornelius to the Caldwell Zoo. There, on January 6, 2003, Cornelius became a father when he had a baby rhino.
Cornelius's Passing
Cornelius died on April 3, 2013, at the Caldwell Zoo. News reports said he was suffering from pneumonia, and a lung infection was also found.
