Dolly was born in 1968 in the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park in South Africa. She was one of the first white rhinos at the Knoxville zoo, where she had lived since 1976.

The year was 1966. The Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, which carries passengers from Palm Springs up to the San Jacinto Mountains nearly 6,000 feet above, had opened a few years prior to great fanfare.