The BIOPARC Valencia technical team has had the collaboration of specialists from the CEU-Cardenal Herrera and Catholic Universities of Valencia to carry out action to address the problems in a tooth belonging to Ami, a rhinoceros in the Valencian park. 

Last Monday the 5th at BIOPARC Valencia, a clinical intervention was carried out on Ami, a 5-year-old female white rhinoceros weighing 1.300 kg. This animal arrived from Kolmarden Wildlife Park (Sweden) in October 2023 and since then the technical team has carried out routine preventive checks to ensure her maximum well-being and that she was in good health conditions.

This transfer was made on the recommendation of the conservation program (EEP) of the European Association of Zoos and Aquariums, who considered BIOPARC's role as a priority by reinforcing the controlled breeding group of this species, made up of three other females, Nombula (20 years old) and Kwanza (5 years old) and the male Martin (30 years old).

10 days ago the animal care staff began to detect a small amount of bleeding from the mouth when he chewed and when eating the hay he formed balls of said food, which was indicative of some problem with the molars. As he had already suffered a similar problem, the organization of a new intervention began immediately. For the procedure, we had the collaboration of clinical veterinarians of equine medicine from the Veterinary Faculties of the CEU-Cardenal Herrera University and the Catholic University of Valencia.

The characteristics of the rhino require a protocol adapted to the dimensions and weight, so first thing in the morning the team of veterinarians from BIOPARC Valencia proceeded to anesthetize the female and once she was completely asleep, stabilized and monitored, the procedure began. in the mouth. For this, CEU professionals performed two endoscopies, the first in the nasal passages and it was found that there was no injury; the second in the oral cavity to investigate the tooth problem and the possible origin of the bleeding.

Several spikes were found on the molars, as well as a small lesion on one of them. It was then that the UCV staff proceeded to file the affected teeth to prevent them from continuing to cause chewing problems. It is worth highlighting the professionalism and coordination of the specialists from both universities who worked together to check the entire mouth and verify that there were no other injuries that could cause problems. After a performance of approximately one hour, the animal was awakened, and a few minutes later it sat up in a very gentle and calm manner.

The next morning, Ami showed a much better attitude, a great appetite, and ate the entire breakfast that the BIOPARC animal care team had prepared for her. Therefore, after the veterinary examination, she was given access to the outdoor facility along with the rest of the rhinos, zebras, and ostriches, and was in public view.

The group made up of one male and three females is part of the international endangered species conservation program (EEP), which aims to preserve this emblematic species included in the IUCN Red List and which suffers an average of 1.000 deaths per year. year due to poaching.

These types of tooth problems are typical in horses, which is why we have the help of equine medicine professionals. Rhinos have many anatomical similarities with horses, the digestive system is very similar, unlike ruminants that have a stomach divided into 4 chambers, horses and rhinos have a stomach with a single chamber. In addition, the growth of teeth and their wear are also very similar. For these reasons, we find many typical pathologies in horses, which can also occur in rhinos.

El southern white rhinoceros (Ceratotherium simum simum) is included in the IUCN Red List (International Union for the Preservation of Nature) with a population of 10.000 individuals and a very worrying decreasing trend. Its main threat is poaching for the absurd but lucrative business of amputating its prodigious horn, a symbol of social status in some societies and to which false medicinal properties are attributed when in reality it is simply made up of keratin, like our hair or nails. The horrible result is an average of 1.000 rhinos killed each year.

En Foundation We can admire them in a truly extraordinary multispecies enclosure, in the area that recreates the savanna. Along with the four rhinos there are other species also included in preservation projects. The red-necked ostrich (Struthio camelus camelus), critically endangered with an estimate of less than 1.000 individuals; Hartmann's zebraEquus zebra hartmannae), also in a vulnerable situation; and various very unique birds such as the marabou (Leptoptiles crumeniferus), the Pelican (Pelecanus onocrotalus) and the sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus).