In Great Britain, for the first time in the world, an operation was performed on the limb of a rhinoceros

The operation on the paw of the female rhinoceros lasted for five hours

Knowsley Safari/Facebook

Veterinary specialists performed a unique operation on the paw of a female southern white rhinoceros. Earlier, the animal damaged the limb, which led to a fracture of the ulna.

As are reported at Phys.org, Amara, a 2-year-old female, started limping on her right front leg in early 2024. Therefore, the employees of the Knowsley Safari zoo, where the animal lives, turned to the specialists of the University of Liverpool (Great Britain) for help.

It turned out that the 800-kilogram female had a fracture of the ulnar cyst, which is included in the lower part of the front paw.

Since there are no records of treating rhinos with such trauma anywhere in the world, doctors decided to use the experience of treating horses to help Amara.

The “innovative procedure”, which involved more than 10 specialists, was carried out in the rhinoceros enclosure. The operation lasted five hours.

Dr David Stack, senior lecturer in surgery at the University of Liverpool, said the procedure was “unlike anything that has been done before”.

“Due to the unprecedented nature of the intervention, we did not know how large an area we would have to operate on or what part of the affected area we would be able to see.”– explained David Stack.

In addition, veterinarians were not sure that in the postoperative period the plaster bandage on Amara’s paw would hold, and the animal itself would withstand the limitation of the limb.

After the procedure, the animal was left in the enclosure to minimize its movement. Zookeepers have provided the female rhino with comfortable conditions, keeping Amara together with her mother.

Zoo workers also covered the floor inside the rhino’s housing with rubber mats and straw, and maintained a sufficient amount of mud in the enclosure to keep the animals’ skin in good condition.

Amara and her mum got lots of scratching and belly rubs, which the Knowsley Safari staff say the animals are particularly fond of.

Subsequently, specialists injected plasma enriched with platelets from the animal’s blood into Amara’s affected joint. Thanks to this, the female will have a greater potential for recovery.

“Amara’s treatment has been a truly ground-breaking veterinary journey involving many unique procedures that we are now documenting in case other animal professionals encounter something similar. Although we sincerely hope these notes are never needed.”– concluded Dr. David Stack.

In the end, the female rhino “got back on her feet” and was able to enjoy life in the fresh air in the open space of the zoo with the rest of the animals.

“Amara did so well with her treatment and wearing the cast that it was finally removed in May. It’s been 27 weeks since she broke her leg. We continue to monitor her closely as her recovery continues.”– said Lindsay Banks, head of the ungulate group at Knowsley Safari.

By data According to the World Wildlife Fund, southern white rhinos are a species that is “near extinction” due to decades of poaching. Hunters are particularly attracted to the horns of rhinoceroses, animals found in the savannahs of southern and eastern Africa.

We used to toldhow scientists in South Africa inject radioactive substances into rhinos to reduce poaching in the region.