Cornelius the First (died April 3, 2013) was a

black rhinoceros The black rhinoceros, black rhino or hook-lipped rhinoceros (''Diceros bicornis'') is a species of rhinoceros, native to eastern and southern Africa including Angola, Botswana, Kenya, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Eswatini, Tanzania ...

at the

Granby Zoo The Granby Zoo (french: Le Zoo de Granby) is a zoo in Granby, Quebec and is one of Quebec's major tourist attractions. It was founded in 1953 by the mayor of Granby at the time, Pierre-Horace Boivin. There are currently more than 1,800 differen ...

Granby, Quebec Granby is a town in southwestern Quebec, located east of Montreal. The population as of the Canada 2021 Census was 69,025. Granby is the seat of La Haute-Yamaska Regional County Municipality. It is the second most populated city in Estrie after ...

, Canada.

Political candidature

Cornelius was the nominal leader of the federal political party, the Rhinoceros Party of Canada from 1965 to 1993. The party attracted a considerable number of votes in Canadian elections

1979 Events January * January 1 ** United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim heralds the start of the ''International Year of the Child''. Many musicians donate to the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'' fund, among them ABBA, who write the song ...

1980 Events January * January 4 – U.S. President Jimmy Carter proclaims a grain embargo against the USSR with the support of the European Commission. * January 6 – Global Positioning System time epoch begins at 00:00 UTC. * January 9 – ...

and

1984 Events January * January 1 – The Bornean Sultanate of Brunei gains full independence from the United Kingdom, having become a British protectorate in 1888. * January 7 – Brunei becomes the sixth member of the Association of Southeast A ...

, sometimes even coming in second place in some ridings, but never elected a candidate to the

House of Commons of Canada The House of Commons of Canada (french: Chambre des communes du Canada) is the lower house of the Parliament of Canada. Together with the Crown and the Senate of Canada, they comprise the bicameral legislature of Canada. The House of Common ...

. The Party was inspired by

Cacareco Cacareco (1954-1962) was a female black rhinoceros exhibited in Brazilian zoos. She is known for receiving many votes in the 1958 São Paulo city council elections as a form of protest vote. Electoral officials did not accept Cacareco's candidacy, ...

, a rhinoceros at the

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

zoo in Brazil, which was a candidate for the 1958 city council elections with the intention of protesting against political corruption. Electoral officials did not accept Cacareco's candidacy, but he eventually won 100,000 votes, more than any other party in that same election (which was also marked by rampant

absenteeism Absenteeism is a habitual pattern of absence from a duty or obligation without good reason. Generally, absenteeism is unplanned absences. Absenteeism has been viewed as an indicator of poor individual performance, as well as a breach of an implici ...

). Today, the term "Voto Cacareco" (Cacareco vote) is commonly used to describe protest votes in Brazil. During the Canadian federal election of 1984, the party made a major part of their platform declaring war on

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

because a Belgian cartoon character, ''

Tintin Tintin or Tin Tin may refer to: ''The Adventures of Tintin'' * ''The Adventures of Tintin'', a comics series by Belgian cartoonist Hergé ** Tintin (character), a fictional character in the series ** ''The Adventures of Tintin'' (film), 2011, ...

'', killed a rhinoceros in one of the early works of the comics series. The party offered to call off the threatened Belgium-Canada war if Belgium delivered a case of

mussels Mussel () is the common name used for members of several families of bivalve mollusc Mollusca is the second-largest phylum of invertebrate animals after the Arthropoda, the members of which are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 85,0 ...

and a case of Belgian beer to Rhinoceros "Hindquarters" in Montreal (the Belgian Embassy in Ottawa went through with it).

United States

The Granby Zoo eventually traded Cornelius to the

San Diego Zoo The San Diego Zoo is a zoo in Balboa Park, San Diego, California, housing 4000 animals of more than 650 species and subspecies on of Balboa Park leased from the City of San Diego. Its parent organization, San Diego Zoo Wildlife Alliance, is a p ...

in exchange for a

giraffe The giraffe is a large African hoofed mammal belonging to the genus ''Giraffa''. It is the tallest living terrestrial animal and the largest ruminant on Earth. Traditionally, giraffes were thought to be one species, ''Giraffa camelopardalis ...

. The San Diego Zoo loaned him to the

Caldwell Zoo The Caldwell Zoo is an zoo located in the city of Tyler, Texas. It features animals from all over the world. The Caldwell Zoo is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums (AZA) and is a member of the World Association of Zoos and Aquar ...

, where he fathered an offspring on January 6, 2003.

Death

Cornelius died on April 3, 2013, at the Caldwell Zoo. A news report indicated he "was suffering from pneumonia and

mycobacterium tuberculosis complex The ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' complex (MTC or MTBC) is a genetically related group of ''Mycobacterium'' species that can cause tuberculosis in humans or other animals. It includes: * ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' * ''Mycobacterium africanu ...

was present in his lungs".

References

{{Canadian federal election, 1979A 2013 animal deaths Leaders of political parties in Canada Individual rhinoceroses Animals in politics Individual animals in Canada