"Corralling a wild rhinoceros into a small chute to give it eyedrops might seem like a crazy plan. But if it's crazy and it works, then it's not crazy. Animal behaviorists partnering with the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society in Florida traveled to Africa in August to help an endangered white rhino with a life-threatening, parasitic eye infection. Daniel Terblanche, a security manager with Imvelo Safari Lodges, said no one in Zimbabwe would have come up with the plan."
"Palm Beach Zoo CEO and President Margo McKnight was visiting the area last year when Imvelo Safari Lodges managing director Mark Butcher told her a health scare with a male rhino named Thuza could jeopardize the future of the program. "This rhino had bleeding eyes. He was rubbing his eyes," Butcher said. "And I was looking at a potential where this guy was gonna lose his eyesight. And this is in a pilot project that's got fantastic vision for a future for conservation throughout Africa.""
An endangered southern white rhino named Thuza developed a life-threatening parasitic eye infection that threatened his eyesight and the viability of a pilot reintroduction program. Animal behaviorists from the Palm Beach Zoo & Conservation Society and trainers from Precision Behavior traveled to Hwange National Park area to work with Imvelo Safari Lodges and anti-poacher scouts. The team used voluntary training techniques to encourage the rhino to enter a small chute and accept topical treatment, avoiding more invasive interventions. Saving Thuza's vision was essential to protecting the small population and the broader community-based conservation effort.
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