Our Old Rhino, Part 2

On Thursday, July 5^th, we planned to visit the rhino again. The game warden reported that the rhino had been eating, so we were optimistic that his condition had improved. Before we were to treat the rhino, the game warden had to locate him. He and his team began searching for the rhino at 6:00 a.m. We arrived at the clinic at 8:00 a.m., as usual, hopeful that the rhino had been located. At 9:30 a.m., we received a call that the rhino had been spotted, so we planned to leave at 10. We received a call shortly later that they had lost the rhino! Apparently, this rhino was traveling very large distances. We hoped this was an indication of an improvement in health, because before our first treatment, the rhino had been relatively stagnant.

They did not find the rhino again until 2:30 p.m. When we arrived, Dr. Rogers did not like what he saw. The rhino appeared even thinner than he was before. We were confused; hadn’t the warden reported that the rhino had been eating? It turned out that the warden had been locating the rhino, leaving food for him, and observing him eat for only a few moments before driving away. If the food was gone later that night, then it was assumed that the rhino had been eating. However, there were many other rhinos and grass-eaters in the area—any of them could have finished the food.

With heavy hearts, we weighed the potential negative effects of putting the animal under anesthesia again. The anesthesia could have fatal effects if the rhino was weaker than before. However, without treatment, the rhino would surely die. Veterinarians of every field face this dilemma on a daily basis—whether the risks of treatment outweigh the potential benefits. In this case, Dr. Rogers decided to dart the rhino again, with even a lower dose of M99. As I described in my previous post, a healthy bull of this size would need 4mg of M99. Last time we treated this rhino, we used 1.5mg. This time, we reduced that amount to 1mg.

The best area to dart an animal is in the hindquarter muscles. This area allows for the most efficient absorption of the drug. Other muscular areas, such as the shoulder, are not as efficient, causing the animal to go down slower or not go down at all. The amount of time it takes for an animal to go down, (typically 6-8 minutes), depends on the size of the animal, the absorption rate of the drug, the dose of the drug, and the area in which the drugs are injected.

One hopes that the dart will inject the drugs intramuscularly (into the muscle). However, sometimes this does not happen. If the dart injects subcutaneously (under the skin), then the drug is injected into the area between the skin and the muscular body wall. This causes the drug to be absorbed slowly. If the dart injects intravenously (into a vein), then the drug is instantly flowing through the animal’s system, and the animal reacts very quickly to the drug. If the dart injects intraosseously (into the bone) then this also causes rapid absorption of the drug. According to Dr. Rogers, it is quite frightening when a dart results in an intraosseous or intravenous injection because the animal drops almost instantly. Other reasons why an animal may drop instantly are an overdose, an allergic reaction that resulted in shock, or a pre-existing heart, liver, or kidney condition that made it sensitive to the anesthetic.

Darting an animal is a very tricky thing. If the animal is moving, Dr. Rogers must anticipate the location of the animal’s hindquarters by the time the dart hits the animal. If Dr. Rogers is in a helicopter, this complicates the issue even further—he must account for the anticipated movement of the helicopter and the movement of the animal, waiting until the animal is in the right orientation to hit the hindquarters.

In our case, the rhino was facing towards us and was not moving, even though we waited for several minutes to see if the rhino would change orientation so Dr. Rogers could hit the hindquarters. He had to settle for hitting the shoulder. This caused a much slower absorption of the small dose of 1mg of M99. Dr. Rogers and Janelle approached the rhino while it was still awake to put the blanket over its head. Even once it had fallen down and we pushed the rhino to sit upright, he still was very reactive. When Cassie put the lubricant in his eyes, he became agitated. Every few minutes, he would try to rear his head. We had someone holding the rhino’s horn so that if he did rear, he would not do any damage. It was certainly exhilarating to treat a rhino that was so very awake!

We administered the same injections and treatments that we had previously, except we only used one 2-liter bag of fluids instead of two. We injected antibiotics, painkillers, and vitamins, and we flushed out the wound with Hydrogen Peroxide and Chlorhexidine. More bone and dead muscle came out of the hole. We hoped our ministrations were enough to keep this rhino alive.

Today, (Monday, July 9^th), I can report the rhino is still alive. It has been one week since we began treatment. The game warden reports that he is eating and looks better than he did before. He is traveling large distances and marking his territory. These are very good signs. It looks like our old rhino may be turning the corner. Even though Dr. Rogers says the prognosis is still dim, I cannot help but be hopeful. If this rhino survives despite the poachers’ attack, it means that poachers will not always win. We can fight back. During this desperate time where a rhino is shot every day, we must believe that we have the power to save this majestic animal, even if it is one rhino at a time.

Our Old Rhino

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 2^nd. 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