Thuza gets a visit from the vet!

Our beloved Thuza seems to have a hypersensitivity to a parasitic worm, causing him eye issues especially at the tail-end of the rainy season. He is behaving normally, eating as well as possible and is still as close as ever to his buddy Kusasa ... but we didn't hesitate to call in Dr Foggin to see how best to address this eye problem.

Darting, sedating and treating a rhino is not an easy task - especially in wooded or flooded areas. The tranquilizer takes about 8 minutes to kick in, and a rhino can walk or even run far in 8 minutes, without us knowing where he will eventually go down. This requires a whole team to make sure the animal doesn't fall and injure himself and to help "push" him into a comfortable, and convenient, position. From then on, a top priority is to keep an eye on his vitals - keep him cool with spray water, oxygenate him and monitor his temperature and respiration. Dr Foggin and his team of assistants, including National Parks, then swiftly treated Thuza's right eye first, the one that seems the most badly affected, before attending to the left eye. It was also important to take samples of the eye "goo" so that we can test it and really see what is going on. We also make the most of the rhino being immobilised to take a tiny DNA ear sample for our records.

The treatment provided well needed relief to Thuza's eye but it seems that this hypersensitivity will likely flare up seasonally so we are looking at ways to provide longer-term relief for Thuza and avoid potentially significant and long-term damage to his eyes.

While it's important to watch post-treatment behaviour and make sure that the tranquilizers or treatments don't have any adverse effects, it was clear Thuza was not too perturbed, as he was spotted lounging at Imvelo's Camelthorn Lodges a few hours later.

For more information about the Community Rhino Conservation Initiative, contact us  here