How the rhino was examined and rescued: behind the scenes of veterinary life
How the rhino was examined and rescued: behind the scenes of veterinary life

Video: How the rhino was examined and rescued: behind the scenes of veterinary life

Video: How the rhino was examined and rescued: behind the scenes of veterinary life
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In the Chicago zoo, a nuisance happened: Laila's rhinoceros began to feel bad. It was hard for her to breathe, and she behaved sluggishly and inactive. The zoo workers decided that the eight-year-old "baby" weighing a ton needed help and called in their in-house veterinarians, but they were clearly not enough. In order to transport such a large and heavy animal, a total of 40 people were needed.

Laila the rhinoceros from the Chicago Zoo
Laila the rhinoceros from the Chicago Zoo

Rhino Laila is really not one of small animals - it is 3.5 meters high, and its weight reaches 1044 kilograms. The usual examination by the veterinarian, alas, did not clarify the picture - it was necessary to take Laila to the tomography. Fortunately, this zoo is one of the few in the world that has its own computed tomography machine. The problem was that Laila simply could not be brought to the hospital - no doors in the building were designed for such a huge patient.

Transportation of a rhinoceros
Transportation of a rhinoceros

As a result, the doctors decided to use a portable device. Laila was injected with sleeping pills, but still had to work hard to examine her airways. In total, 40 employees were involved in this manipulation - and all in order to find out why the rhino has a stuffy nose.

Laila found it difficult to breathe and needed an examination
Laila found it difficult to breathe and needed an examination

The question was actually critical - rhinos are very poor at breathing through the mouth, so if Laila lived in the wild, she most likely would not have a chance to survive. And at the zoo, veterinarians found out that it was all about an abnormally growing molar, which caused inflammation. Laila had to undergo surgery.

Computed tomography apparatus
Computed tomography apparatus

"The heads of rhinoceroses are incredibly massive and the bones are so thick that our traditional X-rays simply cannot penetrate the skull of a rhinoceros and provide a clear picture," said Dr. Michael Adkesson, vice president of clinical medicine for the Zoological Society of Chicago, which runs the zoo.

40 people were involved in the examination of the rhinoceros
40 people were involved in the examination of the rhinoceros

The zoo's medical staff, as well as three visiting doctors, operated on Laila - they removed her tooth and all the infected tissue from her mouth. “As far as we know, this type of surgery has not yet been performed on adult rhinos. And we are very encouraged by how well Laila coped with this procedure. In the wild, such a condition could lead to death of a rhinoceros, but we really hope that with our modern medicine we can save Lila's life."

The rhinoceros had to be euthanized, taken for a tomogram, and then taken to the operation, as well as to the postoperative department
The rhinoceros had to be euthanized, taken for a tomogram, and then taken to the operation, as well as to the postoperative department
In the wild, Laila would not have been able to survive
In the wild, Laila would not have been able to survive
Laila's operation has not yet been done for adult rhinos
Laila's operation has not yet been done for adult rhinos
The problem turned out to be in an incorrectly grown molar tooth
The problem turned out to be in an incorrectly grown molar tooth
The zoo spared no expense to save its rhino
The zoo spared no expense to save its rhino

Indeed, so many efforts were involved to save one rhinoceros - the work of 40 employees, and the organization of tomography, and the rental of a portable device, and the operation itself … Black rhinos are listed in the Red Book as an endangered species, and their "brothers" white northern rhinos and are completely doomed: the last male in the world, unfortunately, has already died.

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