Clara the Triumphant Rhinoceros: A True Story

Meet Clara the world-traveling rhino in this adorable picture book based on the fascinating true story of how, in the late 1700s, she showed the world that big animals aren’t scary beasts but noble and intelligent creatures.

Clara the rhinoceros was born in India in 1738. When she was orphaned as a baby, a kind Dutch merchant took her in. But, as Clara grew bigger and bigger, it was clear she needed a new home. A visiting sea captain had an idea: If he brought Clara to Europe, people all over the world could see how wonderful she was!

And so, Clara left her home, and she and Captain Van der Meer became a kind of family. They travelled all over by carriage, boat, road, and river. Clara met kings and queens, merchants and farmers, artists and scientists, and, along the way, forever changed the way people thought about her species and other large animals of the land, sea, and sky.