Hello everyone,
It has been a while since I last posted because I have been
busy experiencing the wonders of South African wildlife. Since my last post, we
have “anti-poached” 8 more rhino. There were no complications with any of the rhino; all 8
woke from the anesthesia without any problems.
The reality of the potency of poaching smacked me in the
face when we received a call last week about a rhino that was wounded on its
face. The rhino had been spotted during a game drive a week ago with the wound
in his face. The game warden decided to call Dr. Rogers when it was observed
that the rhino was loosing weight. The warden was unsure of whether man or
rhino inflicted the wound—but he was sure that the rhino was growing weaker. We
received this call on Monday, July 2nd. Dr. Rogers had no other
appointments that day, so we were able to drive to the rhino immediately.
We were all fearful as we drove to the reserve. Had poachers
inflicted this wound? Were there still poachers in the area hunting this rhino?
How badly was the rhino wounded? What if he was too weak to undergo anesthesia
and died while we were treating him?
When we finally reached the rhino, we gasped. Dr. Rogers and
Janelle muttered under their breath in Afrikaans. This was the biggest, most dominant
bull on the reserve (having arrived in 1985), and had the largest horn Dr.
Rogers had ever seen. The rhino was emaciated. We could see each rib distinctly
outlined through the thick, tough skin. The rhino’s abdomen was seven inches
higher than it would be on a healthy rhino, which meant that the rhino had no
food in its intestines whatsoever. The hole in the side of its face seeped
blood. This was not a recent wound. Dr. Rogers determined that in order for the
rhino to reach this state of emaciation, the wound had to be at least 2 weeks
old.
After we discussed the risks of anesthesia in the rhino’s
weakened state with the game warden, we decided that the risks far outweighed
the costs, because if the rhino was unable to eat, then he would surely die.
Normally for an adult bull, we would inject 4mg of M99, a potent tranquilizer
used for darting animals. Since this bull was so weak, we only used 1.5mg.
We darted the rhino and waited for 8 minutes, the length of
time it normally takes for the tranquilizer to take effect. The rhino had not
moved an inch, and was staring warily at us. Dr. Rogers and Janelle decided to
approach the rhino to see if they could get it off balance so it would fall.
They got very close to the rhino, waved a blanket, and clapped their hands. The
rhino tried to go towards them, but became unsteady and fell. They immediately
covered the rhino’s eyes with the blanket. Cassie and I loaded our arms with
the medical supplies and rushed over. Rhino have trouble breathing when they
lay on their sides, so we pushed to get the rhino sitting up. Janelle put IV
catheters in both ears and Dr. Rogers injected Butorphenol, which, you will
remember, increases the respiratory rate of the rhino. Janelle attached a
2-liter bag of fluids to each ear. If the rhino wasn’t eating, it was likely
that he may not be drinking very much either.
Dr. Rogers declared that without a doubt, the rhino had a
bullet wound. The bullet went right into the jaw, shattering the bone and
severely damaging the tissue. This would explain why the rhino was unable to
eat—it was far too painful. Dr. Rogers began treatment by cleaning the wound.
He put a long, thin plastic tube into the wound with a syringe attached to the
outer end. This would allow Dr. Rogers to flush the wound—liquid would enter
the wound and expel its contents.
At this point in my pre-veterinary career, I have earned
over 1300 hours caring for animals, with or without veterinarians. I thought
that nothing could possibly gross me out any more. I was wrong. When Dr. Rogers
flushed the wound with Hydrogen Peroxide, a reaction occurred in the wound like
none I have ever seen. The blood, pus, and whatever else was in that hole
reacted with the peroxide to produce a white, chunky foam that overflowed out
of the wound. I was not prepared for that. Luckily, I have a strong stomach and
strong head, so I did not faint or get sick. I certainly diverted my attention
to another area of the animal until I got used to it.
Next, Dr. Rogers flushed the wound with Chlorhexidine to
disinfect the wound. We left the wound open so that it could drain naturally,
but put some insecticide inside and around the wound to deter flies. Imagine
getting maggots in your bullet wound! Yuck!
While Dr. Rogers was flushing the wound, Cassie, Janelle,
and I were running around like chickens with our heads cut off performing other
various tasks Dr. Rogers requested. We injected antibiotics, painkillers,
vitamins, and minerals. We collected DNA and instilled microchips (however, we
did not notch his ears). We monitored his breathing. We then realized that
there was another wound in the rear
end of the rhino! It was not a bullet wound, but one that was caused by another
rhino. It appeared that this once proud and mighty bull had already fallen from
his dominant status. He was too weak to fight back against other rhinos.
We finished administering the 4 liters of fluids and cleaned
up the wound on his backside. Now was the true test: whether the rhino would
successfully wake up from anesthesia.
We waited with bated breath. At first, it seemed like the
rhino did not want to get up, but Dr. Rogers made enough noise that eventually,
it stood. We were all so relieved. We still had hope that the rhino would make
it. Dr. Rogers, however, was not so sure. He said that the prognosis for this
rhino was very, very bad. The most important thing would be getting him to eat.
He instructed the warden to buy very nutritious feed and make it available to
the rhino. Having a source of clean water would also be important, because we
were not sure if the rhino would be able to travel very far. We left the
reserve with heavy, yet faintly hopeful, hearts. We love this rhino like it’s
the last rhino on earth.
I hope that I will have an update on our elderly patient
soon. Please send good thoughts for him.
Sincerely,
Aria
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