Is this a myth or do these wacky guys really get upset by fire and try to stamp it out?
“Remember, kids, only you can stomp out forest fires” – Smokey the Rhino
I presume that you are referring to the scene in The Gods Must Be Crazy.
I have never heard any such thing. I assume it was just made up for the movie.
I thought it was made up on The Simpsons, I guess the Gods Must Be Crazy reference is earlier (and perhaps was what was being spoofed, which I didn’t get at the time).
From The Gods Must Be Crazy (1980)
Narrator: The rhino is the self-appointed fire-prevention officer.
When he sees a fire, he rushes in and stamps it out.
Kate Thompson: Do you work here in Botswana?
Andrew Steyn: Yes, I-- Yes. Yes.
Kate Thompson: And what do you do?
Andrew Steyn: I-- I collect manure. I–
Kate Thompson: Get away from-- Get away from-- Leave me alone!
AndrewSteyn: Miss Thompson? - Miss Thompson? - Miss Thompson! Miss
Thompson! Oh, it’s all right. He’s gone.
Kate Thompson: Who’s gone?
Andrew Steyn: The rhinoceros.
Kate Thompson: What bloody rhinoceros?
Andrew Steyn: Didn’t you see him? He stamped out the fire.
Kate Thompson: You stamped out the fire. I saw you.
Andrew Steyn: No, he did it first. I didn’t want him to come back, so…
-But didn’t you see?
Kate Thompson: Keep away.
Andrew Steyn: Miss Thompson, if you make a fire, and a rhinoceros sees it… …he comes and stamps it out. Rhinos do that. It’s a most interesting phenomenon.
They just forgot to include the part about stomping out all the white English hunters crouched around the fire. Extinguishing the fire was merely a side effect.
-rainy
I suppose they could find some rhinos in the wild, start a fire and see what happens. 
Research, man!
I hear there’s a Darwin grant waiting out there for people wanting to do close-up research with Rhinos…
Q. Why do ducks have flat feet?
A. To put out forest fires.
Q. Why do elephants have flat feet?
A. To put out flaming Ducks.
I just saw that part of The Gods Must Be Crazy recently. (The Antichrist winching itself into the tree; brilliant!) They show a rhinocerous walking to the campsite and stomping around in the fire for a couple seconds. If that’s not natural rhino behavior, it would be interesting to find out how they did it.[sup]*[/sup] Can you train a rhinocerous?
- Camera trickery, quick editing, or two people in a rhino suit[sup]+[/sup]; it’s probably something pretty mundane. Still a good movie, though.
- I know what I want my next Halloween costume to be.
Quote: "Of course, the rhinoceros in South East Asia has become very rare is hardly ever met nowadays, as it keeps to the deep forest and high mountains. "
Stamping out fires might, perhaps, BE the reason they’re very rare!
A word tot he wise…
Fike made a Rhino fire alarm panel at one time. That’s a cached link, the system doesn’t show up on the current site. Note the Rhino logo.
It’s been a very long time since I saw the movie, but as I recall the shot of the rhino actually stomping on the fire was clearly two guys in a rhino suit.
In the event that a rhino ever joins my volunteer fire company, I’ll be sure to post to this thread. 